


After the before

by Biboop



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Original Character-centric, Sorry if that bothers you, and fluff for days, but I suppose there is a bit of violence, but a bit, i don't know how to tag, no beta we die like men, not like a lot, possibly some angst to, there will be plenty of the main cast though, we'll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:15:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23409676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Biboop/pseuds/Biboop
Summary: The world spun around her and her head cracked on the stair bellow. After that there was nothing, until the after began.This story follows a girl that falls into the Avatar universe. With no memory of her past or name,  and only flashes of a possible future to guide her. She is given a chance, a chance to make things good.
Relationships: Hakoda/Kya (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter one: the after begins

**Author's Note:**

> hey ho I hope you enjoy.

At first she knew nothing but blackness. Then all she knew was white and cold, though at the time she did not know what those words meant. Opening her eyes and looking up she saw there high in the sky the moon full and round shining down on her surroundings bathing everything with an ethereal glow. The world looked so beautiful she almost forgot how cold it was. She looked down at her hands staring at them as if they were new to her, she couldn’t remember, maybe they were new. 

Discarding these thoughts she stood and resumed her observation of the moon, it was so big in the sky. She was almost certain it shouldn’t be that big, but then again her mind wasn’t the most reliable it seemed. As she watched the bright sky she felt a strange pull begin to take hold of her. It seemed to ebb and flow in intensity. ‘It feels like the tide’, the thought came unbidden to her mind. Along with it the picture of feet standing on fine gold sand, water running around them out into the vast ocean. It felt like that only much stronger. A sense of calmness came over her and she let the pull take her where it willed. 

She drifted for a time, her world awash in the pale glow of the moon. It filled her every sense and nothing but it mattered. Not even the cold that almost seemed to burn her feet could break her trance. She was unable to stop herself nor did she want to, the pull wanted her to keep going so she would go.

She walked on and on, through the night she continued. However, as it had started so too did it end. The pull which had once felt so strong now seemed to get weaker. Her surroundings were becoming lighter too, yet in a way she felt as if it was dimmer. It was the moonlight she realised, it was becoming weaker as the moon was coming closer to the horizon. As the moonlight got fainter the girl found herself slowing. Simultaneously the moon sunk below the horizon and the sun broke over it, as this happened the girl found herself going still. With her stopping she finally began to feel the burning cold that seemed to scorch her entire body, as well as the ache that came from walking for a long time. Distantly she mused that burning in snow should be ironic, but the exhaustion that permeated her being became more and more apparent as she struggled to stay upright. As she fell to her knees she heard the muffled sounds of someone yelling and a distorted figure in blue filled her vision. Then the world became black. 

Hakoda had woken like all mornings to the face of his beautiful wife. He smiled, content to watch the light of his life in her slumber. No matter what she did Hakoda would always find Kya to be beautiful. He had felt that he was the luckiest man alive the day she had agree to marry him. He had been a mess the day he proposed, he stumbled on his words and fell over his own feet, Bato had never let him forget how much of a fool he'd made of himself that day. After a time as he watched, Kya began to wake up. With a crinkle of her nose and a sigh her eyes opened and he fell in love again.  
"Morning," Kya said as she yawned.  
"Good morning love, have I told you how beautiful you are?" Hakoda asked.  
"Every morning my handsome husband," Kya said with a giggle.  
"Well it's still true Kya, I am the luckiest man in the world thanks to you," Kya smiled and leaned forward to kiss Hakoda sweetly on the lips, Hakoda smiled dopily and sighed happily. The moment was broken by a series of grunts from a pile of blankets that had found its way to the end of their bed. Kya and Hakoda both smiled in amusement as their young two year old son Sokka unearthed himself from the mountain of blankets he had slept in. He yawned and rubbed his eyes looking around, when he saw both his parents watching him wake up he smiled sleepily at them. A growl erupted from Sokka's stomach into the morning air.  
"Well my love it seems our young son might need something to eat," Kya said with a teasing lilt to her voice. With a laugh Hakoda pulled the blankets back revealing Kya's swollen pregnant stomach. With a soft smile he placed his hand on it for a moment then swooped around to lift up his son.  
"Come on son, let's get you and mummy something to eat shall we," Sokka cheered in excitement at the prospect of food. 

As Hakoda got up from the other side of the tent he saw Kanna straightening out her bedding.  
"Good morning mum," he greeted. Kanna turned and smiled at her son.  
"Good morning son, Sokka," she greeted back, smiling widely at her grandson as he lept to her from his father's arms.  
"Well it seems that we have found Sokka's favourite," Hakoda cried dramatically.  
"Oh hush you, of course I'm Sokka's favourite, I have all the treats," Kanna said with a mischievous smile as she pulled a bag of jerky from behind her.  
"Yay! Meat!" Sokka cried  
"What do we say Sokka?" Kanna asked holding the jerky up.  
"Please gran gran," Sokka cheered as he was given the jerky. With a snort Hakoda traded looks with Kya as he gathered food for them both. 

The family ate breakfast, Sokka babbled away excitedly to the grown ups about what he would be doing that day. Kanna smiled gently nodding along and humming at all the right places. When they finished Hakoda went to leave their tent. As he stepped out he breathed in the morning air and watched the sun as it just peaked out over the horizon. Hakoda paused as he saw a figure standing in the snow. With a jolt he realized that the figure was too small to be an adult and didn't seem to be wearing any clothing. With a yell he ran over to them just to see them away and fall to their knees. When he got to the child they fell forward into his arms. Looking them over he found a small girl, no older than five. Shockingly enough she wasn't wearing a scrap of clothing much less any shoes. The back of her head felt wet, bringing it up he saw it came away bloody. He didn't recognise her despite her features being water tribe in nature. As quickly as he could he scooped the young girl up and ran her into the family tent calling for Kanna. Kanna when she saw the young girl in his arms ran to meet him.  
"What happened?" She asked.  
"She was just standing in the snow. She collapsed into my arms as soon as I got close. I think she may also have a head injury," Hakoda answered laying the freezing girl down as Kanna directed. 

After that it was a whirlwind of following orders and fulfilling directions. Kanna trying to warm the girl the girl up and treat the head wound. At one point Hakoda was evicted from the tent with Sokka, he was given the order to go ask around for some clothing that would fit the little girl. Hakoda rushed over to the tent of Toklo and Yura who had a daughter a few years older than the girl and may still have had clothing that were the right side. Having obtained some clothes Hadoka ran back to his tent, Sokka clinging to his back. After that, all there was left to do was wait and see if the girl survived. 

Hakoda stood outside the tent with Sokka who was being unusually quiet standing by his feet. As they waited the rest of the village who had been awoken by his yells and running gathered around him. Bato stepped forward and gave him a quizzical stare, not needing words to ask what was happening. Hakoda sighed and turned to the village.  
“This morning as the sun rose I found a girl in the centre of our village, I do not recognise her but she is of the water tribe. She collapsed into my arms freezing, she wore no clothing or shoes and had a wound to her head. I do not know where she came from but my mother and wife are tending to her. Hopefully she will survive,” at his announcement a murmur ran through the crowd as they speculated who this girl could be and why she had come to them in the state she was. Not having any more answers Hakoda turned back to the tent and waited, Bato directed the people back to their daily chores with reassurance that they would be told whether the girl would make it or not. 

Sokka after a time began pulling at his father’s pants. Hakoda looked down to see his son reaching up in a gesture to be picked up, smiling softly he complied.  
“Daddy, is she gonna be okay?” Sokka asked quietly into the crook of his father’s neck. Hakoda breathed out a heavy sigh.  
“I hope so son, your mummy and gran gran are going to do all they can to make sure that she makes it,” Sokka nodded and turned his head to watch the door. They stood there watching for a long time waiting for news when finally Kanna emerged from the tent. She walked over, her face set in a grim frown.  
“It looks like she was out there for a while and with the state she was in it’s astounding that she didn’t have any major frostbite. She will most likely catch a fever but I’m hopeful that she will make it. She seems strong,” with that Hakoda let out a sigh, releasing some of the tension that had built up since he had found the girl. He turned to Bato and relayed the news and asked him to spread it throughout the village. With a nod Bato left Hakoda with his son and mother.  
"Can I see?" Sokka asked. With a nod from Kanna, Hakoda carried his son into their tent. There beside the fire lay Kya as she held the young girl under the blankets continuing to warm her up. The girls head was bandaged up. Sokka squirmed around in a bid to be let down, once on the ground he ran over to his mum and stared at the girl. “Who is she?” he asked quietly.  
“We don’t know yet my little warrior, she hasn’t been able to tell us,” Kya said as she tucked a strand of hair behind the girl’s ear. “Do you think you could ask your gran gran to bring me some more stew?” She continued. Sokka nodded a serious expression taking over his face as he trotted over to Kanna who was tending a pot of stew.  
“Mama needs stew,” he said, making a grabby motion with his hands.  
“Oh really well does the little warrior have any manners to ask for the stew?” Kanna asked with a raised eyebrow.  
“Please gran gran, can I has some stew?” Sokka asked with his best winning smile.  
“Of course you can,” Kanna said, with a gentle smile she handed Sokka a half filled bowl of stew. Sokka walked carefully over to the other side of the tent making sure that he didn’t waste a drop of the meal by spilling it. The family all watched with smiles as he scrunched his face up in concentration. Once he stopped in front of Kya he presented the bowl to her with a victorious smile. Kya smiled wide as she sat up, elevating the girl with her.  
“Thank you dear, you did splendidly,” she took the bowl and spoon and then began the process of feeding the unconcious girl the heated stew. She went slowly ensuring the girl didn’t choke or breath in the food as she went until the stew was finished. After a time the girl was warm enough that she didn’t need Kya to lay with her under the blankets and she was left under the blankets and the watchful eye of Kanna. 

The day went by in a quiet manner compared to the morning, the family going about their daily routine with Kanna periodically feeding or giving water to the girl. As the night came on the family went to sleep after ensuring the girl would be warm and comfortable throughout the night. When they woke up the next day they found that the girl had developed a fever, Kanna and Kya cared for her to the best of their abilities. Ensuring she ate as much as she could and drank plenty of fluids. They spent the next three days battling the girl's fever, changing bandages when necessary. The entire family was tense, Sokka spent a lot of his time sitting beside the girl when Kanna and Kya weren't looking after her. He would gently pat or stroke her unbandaged hair while babbling to her, telling her all about what was going on in the village or what cool adventure he had gone on that day. On the third night the family breathed a sigh of relief as the girl's fever broke. The morning after, as Sokka was watching the girl while eating breakfast he noticed that she was beginning to wake up.

The world was dark, she couldn't see anything, she spun around searching desperately for anything in the dark when she felt a pull. As had happened before a calm swept over her and let herself be carried like a piece of driftwood on the tide. As she walked a glow began illuminating a small bamboo grove and an elegant archway in front of her the pull faded as her feet fell on soft grass. There was a splash behind her, spinning around she saw a pool of water where the glow was coming from. Walking tentatively over the lush grass she approached the pool. In the pool there was two koi that were circling each other. She watched the hypnotic motion, each koi spiraling eternally around the other. The glow got brighter and brighter until it was blinding, still she couldn't look away. Once her vision cleared she found herself looking at two humanoid figures, a man and a woman, that seemed to be dancing on the pool’s waters. They spun around each other mimicking the koi still circling beneath their feet, there movements were otherworldly, the glow was no longer coming from the pool but now was coming from them. The girl was lost for words in the beauty before her, the woman's long white tresses and dress seemed to be caught in an unseen current, floating around her pale form. Her eyes a pale blue shone with a gentle light. The man gave a deep chuckle which brought the girl's attention to him. He stood solid and strong where his counterpart was soft and gentle. That wasn't to say that he was any less captivating, where the woman was pale he was dark, hair black as pitch falling down his back, his eyes a striking sapphire blue that contrasted beautifully with his dark hair and skin.  
"It seems she finds you as beautiful as I do my love," the man said, his voice deep and seemed to resonate through the clearing. The woman gave a tinkling laugh and turned to the girl. She came forward and knelt before the girl.  
"Ignore my husband dear, my name is Tui and my husband's name is La. It is lovely to meet you my dear, I imagine that you have questions," the girl blinked at Tui and nodded dumbly at her."Well ask what you wish," Tui said with a smile.  
"Where am I?... Who… am I?" The girl asked.  
"This is the Spirit Oasis in the Northern Water Tribe, your spirit traveled here while your body is unconscious back in the Southern Water Tribe. As for who you are, that, my dear is harder to answer. You were brought into this world from another, there you had a life and a name, but they are both lost to you now. You will be given a name, but not by us," Tui said.  
"Okay, well then why am I here?" The girl asked, Tui smiled.  
"My dear, you are here for a chance. A chance to live, and a chance to help. That is why we have brought you here, here we will teach you. We cannot teach you much but we will give you enough to start," with that Tui stood up and held her hand out to the girl who reached out to take it. Tui pulled the girl out onto the water, taking tentative steps the girl followed, the water glowed beneath her feet.  
"We have little time my dear, three days at most. In that time you will learn the basics of our language and customs. As well as the fundamentals of water bending from both myself and my husband," Tui said, La nodded to the girl and all three sat. 

"First we shall begin with simple greetings," Tui stated.l, from there the two spirits taught the girl what they could of their language and customs for the rest of the day. By the end of the session, though she wasn't fluent, she had a strong foundation from which to learn. After she was at a level that the spirits deemed her competent they moved on. La rose from his seated position and pulled the girl up. He fell into a battle stance and gestured for the girl to copy, as she did Tui came up behind her and corrected her stance and so the second day progressed with the girl learning how to defend herself with the use of water bending. Again no one would dare to call her a master but she learned a solid base and she would be able to defend herself if the need was dire. Finally the third day came, Tui gestured for the girl to come close to her. The both knelt above the Koi and Tui bent a humanoid figure up from the pool. In the pool glowing lines appeared.  
"Now, my dear, I will show you the art of healing. Come close and learn," and the girl did. She learnt of the line of chi that ran through the human body, she learnt how best to heal wounds, she learnt how best to encourage a bone to mend and what seemed the most important lesson, the one emphasized the most, she learnt how to coax a burn to heal. As she learnt she saw flashes of another life, large books with pictures of the human anatomy. She found herself thinking of different words to describe what Tui said, such as bradycardia and dyspnoea for a slowed heart rate or a shortness of breath. She remembered ways to assess if there is fluid in the lungs and how to find an apical pulse. The girl didn't realise but she had stilled and was staring out sightlessly as she remembered. La placed a hand on Tui's shoulder as they waited for her return. With a grasp the girl found herself staring at the spirits.  
"I don't understand," she whispered. The spirits looked at each other and La sat down and began to explain.  
"We told you that your old life is lost to you, did we not," the girl nodded "well that is in a way untrue. You see while you can never return to the life you had, parts of it will remain. You may remember the most important things of your life that make you who you are. One of those parts, so it seems, is the knowledge that you gained as a nurse, a healer from your world," La said.  
"But I can't have been a healer, I'm too young," La chuckled in response.  
"You would be too young to be a healer wouldn't you. Well you see, when we brought you here you were much older than you are now. However, we brought you here for a reason and being the age you were… well, you will be able to accomplish much more as you are then as you were. Like this you will be cared for and will be allowed to learn of the world you now live in without the pressure of already knowing as an adult would," The girl sat stunned for a moment before nodding able to see the sense that the spirit was making. This way she could learn, grow and any abnormalities she carried from her previous life would be overlooked as the quirks of a child. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes when the girl noticed that the oasis was becoming lighter. Though she had found herself able to track the days the oasis had remained dark with the moon high in the sky the entire time she had been there. Now she noticed that the moon was lower to the horizon and it seemed that dawn was coming.  
"Well my dear, it seems that our time together has come to an end," Tui said with rueful smile.  
"I almost wish it wasn't, it was enjoyable to have you here with us," La said, a smile mirroring his wife's on his face.  
"It was nice to meet you both, thank you for all you've taught me," the girl said standing and bowing her head in respect.  
"You are welcome my dear, a final gift for you before you leave," Tui reached down into the pool and pulled out a beautiful necklace made of a dark cord, a pearlescent charm engraved with a crescent moon and a blue gem used as a stopper at the top. "This I give to you as a gift, it contains a small amount of the water from our oasis. There is but one use so save it for the most dire of situations," Tui moved forward and placed the necklace over the girl's bowed head. As the necklace came to rest the sun broke over the horizon and the girl for a moment saw a man with golden eyes and sunkissed skin who smiled at her before she found her eyes opening to the real world. 

Her first glimpse of her new world was the face of a young boy with nut brown skin and eyes similar in color to La. Her mind brought forward the picture of undoubtedly this boy in his teenage years. He wore war paint on his face, his hand held a machete and a boomerang strapped to his back. He stood on a wall of ice face grim as he watched a dark ship approaching, the only male left to defend his tribe.  
"Mama! Gran Gran! She's awake!" The boy cried breaking into the girl's thoughts and alerting the others in the tent. Kya and Kanna rushed over to the girl and began checking her over once more. The girl watched this with wide eyes, trying to understand what exactly was going on.  
"Hello sweetie, how do you feel?" Kya asked. The girl could barely understand the question searched through her words to find an answer.  
"Thirsty, hungry" she decided. Kya nodded.  
"I'm not surprised, you've been unconscious for the past four days, Hakoda could you get me some water?" She asked, bringing the girls attention to the man standing behind the two woman. He nodded and brought over what she asked. Thanking him Kya took the water and held it to the girl's lips. "Slowly now sweetie, don't drink it too fast," heeding the half understood warning the girl took slow mouthfuls of water until her thirst was satiated. After finishing the water Kya picked up a bowl and began feeding the girl some stew. Once finished the girl smiled and thanked those around her in a halting manner and watched as the older woman brought attention to herself.  
"Now that you are fed and watered, I believe introductions are in order. My name is Kanna, this is my son Hokoda, his wife Kya and my grandson Sokka. What is your name." The girl took a moment to translate what was being said before sighing.  
"My name... gone… do not know… forgotten," she said trying to get across what she meant. Kanna raised an eyebrow.  
"You don't remember your name? Do you remember where your family is?" She asked. Again the girl took a moment to translate.  
"It gone, all gone, just me left," she said finally. The adults looked at each other worried. It was Hakoda that spoke next.  
"Your family, they're gone? Can you tell me their names?" He asked gently, trying to get more information.  
"Mm, gone, no names I am forgotten," the girl replied with a nod hoping she hadn't got her words mixed. The adults fell silent not knowing what to say to that. Sokka took this lull to mean that he could talk.  
"You don't remember your name?" He asked, jumping forward onto the girl's bed. The girl nodded at the boy smiling sheepishly. Sokka looked up at his father. "Can we name her?" He asked looking up at his parents. The three adults looked at each other and Hakoda turned back to the two children.  
"Well, we need to call you something, how about Nukilik, you have shown that you are strong and you should carry that strength with you wherever you go," he said. The girl now dubbed Nukilik smiled at Hakoda, not quite able to grasp what he meant but liking the sound of the name nonetheless. 

Sokka cheered and smiled at Nukilik, he rocketed forward into her. Nukilik startled but managed not to topple backwards. She pulled him into a warm hug smiling down at the boy. He looked up at her smiling and as she looked into his eyes before her eyes flashed a scene of him, again older, laughing with a group of unfamiliar people. As it came so too did it leave and Nukilik refocused back on this Sokka. She smiled widely at him unaware of the concerned glances exchanged between the adults as they noticed her moment of vacancy. As the two children sat together Sokka reached forward and messily began to braid Nukilik’s hair, falling into the rhythm that he had found he started telling her all about what he intended to do with her now that she was awake. Chief among these plans was showing her the joy of penguin sledding. Nukilik listened attentively, though unable to comprehend the two year old as he babbled. The conversation brought a smile to all those watching. This continued until Nukilik began to yawn.  
“Alright my little warrior, your friend needs to have some rest. She’s still recovering and needs all the sleep she can get. How about you go and play for a little while,” Kya said as she gently ushered her son out the door.  
“Can’t Uki come mama?” Sokka asked looking back over his shoulder, only to see Kanna tucking Nukilik back under the bed and her beginning to doze off.  
“I’m sorry baby. She’ll be able to play with you another day, once she has her strength back,” Kya responded. Sokka huffed a bit but still ran out of the tent to play. 

Once Nukilik was fast asleep and with Sokka out playing Hakoda and Kya turned to Kanna who seemed to be getting ready to say something.  
“Nukilik seems to be around five years old and yet it is obvious that her vocabulary is more limited than Sokka. It also seems that she has gaps in her memory. I have seen this though not very often with head injuries. It may clear up after a time but with how severe it seems to be… I am unsure how much she will regain. Then again head injuries are very unpredictable. A bigger concern was the episode of blankness that came over her. I fear that it may also be connected to the head injury. Before either of you were born one of the men in the town suffered a head injury and exhibited behaviour much like Nukilik has. Before the injury he was one of the smartest men I knew but after he often had trouble with his words and had episodes where it seemed his spirit left his body. I found that he was still just as smart as before, only unable to express himself in spoken word. He could write down easily the answer to a question but when asked to speak it aloud he found he often stopped and started. He was forced to relearn how to speak and even then he still at times had trouble,” Kanna said. Hakoda glanced and his wife then back to Kanna.  
“So you think that Nukilik has memory loss, that we may need to reteach her to speak?” He asked. Kanna gave a nod.  
“We shall have to be patient and supportive with her, it may be that she will remember who she is in time, but she also may not,” Kanna explained. The two others nodded and looked to the sleeping child, all hoping that Kanna was right and she would remember. 

After a few more days Nukilik was deemed well enough to leave the tent and explore the village. Sokka was almost more extatic than Nukilik herself and dragged her out into the snow to meet the rest of the village. He showed her all the best places to play and even showed her his special hiding spot that Hakoda could never find him in. He introduced her to everyone and told everyone how strong she was. As the days past they fell into a pattern, they would all have breakfast before the two children were allowed to go out and spend the day playing. Nukilik would watch over Sokka as they went about their day making sure he wouldn’t get into trouble. Over the time that Nukilik had known Sokka she had become very attached to him. Despite the language barrier he would come and sit beside her, braid her hair into knotts which Kya would have to untangle and tell her long stories that she couldn’t understand, yet still brought her joy simply through his exuberance. She had also grown closed to the others in the family. Kanna with her grandmotherly tone that chided misbehaviour yet applauded the good, Hakoda with his warm smiles and comforting hugs and Kya with her soft words and gentle touch. 

Days turned into weeks which turned into a month and the group got closer. Nukilik learnt more and more of the language, she also learnt about the world as a whole. One day found Nukilik and Sokka running outside to play, Nukilik chasing after Sokka yelling only slightly disjointedly that when she caught him she would tickle him to death. Sokka screamed in delight as he ran through the village dodging and weaving through legs to get away. Sokka with his lead led the two children to an unoccupied part of the village. Feeling that she would never catch Sokka, Nukilik gave a desperate pull and the snow around Sokka’s feet rose up and tripped him into a soft pile of snow. With her prey in reach Nukilik pounced and began tickling the squealing child. Nukilik kept tickling until Sokka was close to tears where she finally let him flop to the ground. Sokka panted for a moment until he had his breath back then turned to Nukilik with a serious expression.  
“Uki, you magic,” he said. Nukilik stilled and cocked her head to the side.  
“What do you mean?” she asked.  
“You made the snow move. Uki magic,” Sokka elaborated. Understanding dawned in Nukilik and she realised that he was talking about her bending.  
“You mean this?” She asked as she took the stance La had taught her and bent a bit of water up. Sokka’s eyes widened and a massive smile broke out.  
“Uki magic!” he cried in joy. Nukilik smiled at his happiness.  
“Not magic it’s, umm... it’s… I don’t know the word,” she finished with a frustrated huff.  
“Uki magic,” Sokka reiterated seriously and Nukilik decided to leave it.  
“Want to build a fort?” She asked. This caught Sokka’s attention and he immediately forgot about Nukilik’s ‘magic’ as only a child can do. 

Nukilik smiled thinking about how happy she was, building a fort with her brother. This thought made her pause while shoveling snow onto the fort’s walls to think. Was Sokka her brother? Did that make Kya her mum and Hakoda her dad? She thought hard and she found yes they were her family. Kanna had already told her to call her gran gran. They also gave her clothes and food. They taught her words and what they meant. Hakoda would even scoop her up just like Sokka and plant a wet kiss right on her cheek sometimes, which was funny and made her squeal with laughter, and at night Kya would tuck both her and Sokka in together. They were her family and she loved them all. Idly she wondered what her family had been like in her before, as she had been calling the time before she came to this world. Did she have a family in her before? She decided that it didn’t matter, these people were her family now and as she couldn’t remember her before family, that was all that mattered. With a decisive nod she resumed making her fort firm in the knowledge that she now had a family. That night during dinner when Hakoda passed her a bowl of stew Nukilik smiled at him.  
“Thank you dad,” she said, causing the adults to still and glance at each other. Hakoda turned back to the young girl before him.  
“Nukilik, did you just call me dad?” He asked. Nukilik nodded, not even glancing up at him. Hakoda reeled back in shock. Kya was the one to continue questioning the girl when it became apparent Hakoda wouldn’t.  
“Sweetie, what about your family?” she asked softly. Nukilik turned to her and then to Hakoda, seeing his expression her brow creased in confusion.  
“This is my family. I don’t remember the before family so this one is everything. You give clothes to me and food. You give hugs and love and happiness to me so you are my family,” she explained eyes wide and innocent. Tears came to Kya’s eyes with Nukilik’s explanation. Kanna pulled herself up and moved around the family to kneel beside the young girl. For a moment they stared into each other’s eyes before Kanna pulled Nukilik into her chest for a hug.  
“Welcome to our family Nukilik, welcome home,” Kanna said to the bewildered girl. Nukilik decided that all she needed to do was hug back, unknowingly accepting what she already knew. That this was her family.


	2. Chapter 2: finding a place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hey ho hope you enjoy this.

After the adoption of their newest member the family went back to dinner and Sokka began to tell the family all about the day he had had. He spoke of playing in the snow, as well as the fort the two made, about how amazing it was and how he wanted to make another tomorrow, only bigger. He paused as if a thought just occurred to him and turned to Nukilik.  
“Uki can use her magic to make a bigger fort,” he said happily. Hakoda smiled at the boy.  
“Nukilik is magical now is she?” he asked teasingly. Sokka nodded his head furiously.  
“Mmhm she moved the snow,” he said innocently. Suddenly the whole tent went quiet, and they all turned to Nukilik.  
“Is that true Nukilik?” Kanna asked after a moment. Nukilik looked up at the worried faces and shrunk into herself a bit before nodding.  
“It’s not magic. I’m not magic, is something else. Don’t know word,” she said, looking down.  
“Can you show us?” Kanna pressed. Nukilik looked up for a moment then nodded. This was her family, why shouldn’t she show them. Standing up for the second time that day she took the stance that La taught her and pulled a stream of water from the snow. Sokka clapped while the adults gapped. Nukilik twirled the stream around her brother's head, making sure not to drop it. Finally she bent the water back into the snow and looked up at the adults.  
“What’s the word?” She asked, her gaze settling on Kanna.  
“It’s called water bending,” Kanna responded breathlessly, “you are a waterbender,” at the announcement Hakoda began to chuckle, which turned into full blown laughter.  
“My daughter is a waterbender!” he cried, running forward and scooping the girl up, kissing all over her face. Nukilik giggled and begged him to stop, when he did it was to place her down then pull his wife into a hug and kiss her on the lips. All the family laughed at his display, Sokka demanding a hug as well, which was freely given. The family spent the evening laughing and celebrating until the children were put down to sleep. They fell under quickly due to the amount of energy expended during dinner. 

Once the children were both asleep the adults gathered around the fire, Hakoda still smiling from the revelation of Nukilik’s waterbending abilities. Kana however had a contemplative frown on her face, which Kya noticed when she looked up at her.  
“What’s got you looking so down Kanna? This news is amazing, to have a waterbender in the village is, well it is hope, is it not?” Kya questioned. Kanna looked up from the fire.  
“I do agree, little Nukilik and her waterbending does bring hope. However, it does beg the question if maybe this might be why she came to us,” Kanna paused. “Is it not strange to find a young child let alone a young waterbending child alone? And then there is also the fact that despite what she remembers she has been trained. Her form may not have been perfect, but it was certainly not that of a one with absolutely no training,” Kanna said. Hakoda’s smile fell for the first time since the news.  
“That begs the question, if she did have a family that had enough resources to begin to teach her waterbending, where are they now? Why have they not come found her? It has been a month now, even if they went to the other tribes first. If her family was looking, they would have gotten her by now,” Hakoda said. Kanna nodded.  
“I have been thinking on it all evening and the only conclusion that I can come to is that they either don’t care. Which makes no sense seeing as she has been partly trained, training requires resources that wouldn’t be expended by those who didn’t care. Or she no longer has a family to look for her,” Kanna concluded. Kya gasped.  
“The poor dear, are you sure? Hakoda, you said your men found nothing when they went out to search. Are you sure they didn’t miss something?” She asked. Hakoda shook his head.  
“No I sent Bato out with them and Atak, they would not miss anything and they said they found nothing. We also sent out a message to the other villages, none of them were missing a child,” Hakoda said with a sigh. He looked over at the sleeping children and sighed again.  
“Well then she is with us now, she is a part of our family so we will look after her as such, and if her family do one day come looking for her she will simply have two families then,” Kya stated in a matter of fact tone. Kanna nodded to her in agreement and Hakoda smiled widely at his wife, once again reminded of how lucky he was to have her. After the decision was made the three got ready for bed and turned in for the night. 

The next morning began as normal. The family got up and had breakfast, Sokka reminding Nukilik about how they were to build a fort and how she would use her ‘magic’ to make it better than yesterday. Nukilik smiled and nodded along, excited herself to get out and begin building. Before they could run out Hakoda grabbed them both by their shirts and lifted them up.  
“Not yet you two. You can play later but for now there is going to be a village meeting that you will both need to attend,” he said. Both Sokka and Nukilik groaned at the prospect of their fun being delayed for a boring meeting, but Hakoda just laughed. He carried the two on his shoulders to ensure that they didn’t run off, abandoning the meeting in favour of fun. Once the villagers had all assembled Hakoda lowered his children down into the arms of their mother and grandmother then stepped forward.  
“Good morning all, I have called this meeting to make two very important announcements. Firstly, I am honored to tell you all that my family has decided to adopt Nukilik into our family,” A cheer went up throughout the villagers and they all turned to Nukilik with large smiles on their faces. Nukilik blushed and hid in Kya’s skirt at all the attention eliciting a round of cooing from the onlookers. “Yes, yes, my family and I are all very pleased but there is another announcement that I must make. Nukilik, would you mind coming up to help me?” Hakoda asked, beckoning to his daughter. Nukilik looked up at Kya nervously and when she received an encouraging nod, raced up to her father. Hakoda squatted down so that he was at eye level with his daughter. “Hey sweetie, do you think you could show me what you did last night?” He asked. Nukilik glanced at the watching crowd then nodded. Taking a step back she took a deep breath and began once again to bend the water. The entire village gasped, they stood in shock as Nukilik clumsily bent the water around her head. For a few beats the air was still as she returned the water to the ground then Sokka began cheering and the entire village followed suit. They were so loud that Nukilik hid behind her father’s pant leg to escape the crowd. Hakoda smiled down at his girl and picked her up, smiling widely when she burrowed into his neck. 

Sokka and Nukilik never were able to build a better fort that day. They were so swamped by villagers coming up to them smiling and asking to see Nukilik waterbend, that they decided to play inside that day. It wasn’t much better the next day, or the next, in fact it took a few weeks before the two were able to walk outside without being approached by a well wisher, but after that life returned to normal. Finally the two were out playing, building a bigger better hut. Every now and again Nukilik would bend some water to reinforce the walls ensuring that it was the strongest fort they could make. When it was finished it even had a small platform which Sokka called his watch tower. Nukilik stood back to admire their work and smiled, until she was hit in the stomach with a snowball. Looking up she Sokka standing on his watchtower with his arm outstretched, a smug grin on his face. A wide grin spread across her face, maniacally laughing she crouched down to make her own snowball and so the battle began. Nukilik sprinted around the side, trying to run into the fort. Sokka cut her off and hit her with another snowball. Nukilik retaliated and nailed her brother in the face causing him to fall backward. Taking this chance she ran forward more snow in hand to smash into his face. The two ran around the fort chasing each other tossing snow. One stray ball flew wide and hit the back of Tulok head. With that he entered the fight as well for retribution. As he was older than the siblings and therefore had better coordination he annihilated the younger to. This forced a truce between the two to attack Tulok the fight began pulling the other children into the fight as well as more snow flew astray. Laughter rang around the camp and the adults watched on, smiling at them all. In the end the siblings were deemed the winners as they hurled snow from their fortress where they were untouchable, Nukilik creating a strong defense with her water bending that stopped all snow from hitting the two. At the end of the day all the children went home exhausted but happy. 

The days continued in this manner, filled with laughter and fun. Nukilik became closer and closer to her family. A month after her adoption, Hakoda announced that he would be taking the children penguin sledding. Sokka squealed in excitement, finishing his breakfast as quickly as possible. Once they were dressed the three began the freak out of the village. While leaving the village Bato came up, asking where they were going. Once told, he decided to go with them. Nukilik, despite having been in the tribe for a little over two months, had not truly gotten close to many of the other adults. She often felt shy and timid, afraid that her limited vocabulary would interfere with interacting with those older than her. Due to this she had had little interaction, even if he was obviously her father's best friend, so she didn't know how she felt about him coming along. The four walked for about twenty minutes before they came across the penguin colony. Nukilik paused for a moment as she watched the penguins. For some reason she felt as if they looked wrong, a picture flashed before her eyes of a different sort of penguin. It's face was smaller and it looked more bird-like than the animals before her. Shaking this vision away she refocused on her dad.  
"Well my children, do you want me to teach you how to let a penguin ride it?" Sokka was nodding furiously having had no luck by trying to chase the animals. Hakoda laughed and pulled a fish out of his pocket, as soon as the fish was in sight the penguins began flocking around him squawking for the food. The children laughed as the man led one of them over.  
"Me first, me first," Sokka cried reaching up with a grabby motion. Hakoda smiled and nodded.  
"Alright son, let's ride a penguin," he said pulling his son into his arms and making the large penguin lie on its belly at the top of a small rise. Hopping on the penguin's back they slid down, Sokka squealing with glee. 

"Do you want to have a go?" Bato asked. Nukilik jumped at the man's sudden closeness. Nervously she looked up, as their eyes locked, her vision whited out and images began to flow over her. She saw Bato and her father playing as children, she saw them growing up together and the bond that grew, she watched them laugh and cry together. Suddenly she saw them both older, fighting. Men in red armor all around shooting flames from their hands. One of the men went to attack her father but Bato ran in front to take the blow. Seeing his friend fall, Hakoda retaliated with fury striking down all those around him. The vision finished with the picture of Bato bandaged and healing under the care of a group of women. Nukilik stumbled for a moment, regaining her bearings and looking back up at Bato who watched her, face creased with worry. This man would willingly place his life on the line for her father. Nukilik smiled up at him and hugged his legs. Bato started then smiled down at the girl. Hakoda had told him of what Kanna had said about the possibility that the head injury affecting the girls behaviour. He felt sure that this is what had just happened, but the girl hugging him was, while not unwanted, strange. Until this point she had shied away from him, seemingly scared. He had hoped that coming along and interacting with the girl would build trust. It seemed it had, smiling down at her wrapped around his legs he picked her up.  
"How about we try to race your dad and brother?" He asked. She smiled and nodded pointing at a large penguin that had wandered close in search of more fish. 

The rest of the day was spent racing on the backs of penguins and having fun. As the sun was just kissing the horizon the four decided to call it a day. Sokka and Nukilik smiled widely as they took turns to tell Kya of the great race that had occured, she smiled and laughed as Sokka retold some of the most amazing moments when her smile slipped. She looked down and then up to Hakoda and Kanna.  
“Hakoda dear, could you please take the children and go stay with Bato and go get Tapeesa. It seems my waters just broke,” She said. Hakoda stilled a stunned look on his face, then a large grin broke out and he nodded. After planting a kiss on Kya’s cheek he picked up their children as told and left Kya in his mother’s capable hands. 

On the way to his best friend's house he stopped in to alert Tapeesa that her help was required. The woman hurriedly moved over to their tent. When the three arrived at Bato’s tent Bato took one look at Hakoda and smiled, clapping him on the shoulder congradulating him. Sokka was looking around in slight confusion before shrugging and moving over the Nukilik to begin braiding her hair. Nukilik on the other hand was looking around smiling at her dad. She knew what Kya said meant. She would have had to be blind not to notice how very, very pregnant Kya was. She looked up at Hakoda and decided to make sure that she understood.  
“Dad, is mum bringing a sibling?” she asked. Hakoda smiled down at his girl and nodded.  
“Yes Nukilik, your mummy is giving birth. Soon you’ll have another sibling to look after, you as well Sokka. You’re going to be a big brother soon,” Hakoda said. Sokka looked up at his name and smiled absently, he couldn’t quite comprehend what it meant for his mummy to be pregnant but was happy that everyone else was happy. After that they waited, in the wait the children played and when it got late Hakoda told a story from his childhood before bed. Occasionally Bato would chime in, reminding him of how the story really went, embarrassing Hakoda and making the children giggle. Finally the children fell asleep. 

It was deep into the night when Nukilik was woken. Looking up she saw her father’s face lit by the firelight.  
“Do you want to come meet your new little sister?” He asked. Nukilik’s eyes widened and she nodded feverishly. Smiling Hakoda helped her up before going to wake up Sokka. Together the three made their way to their tent. Walking in they saw Kya sitting with the new child on her chest. Nukilik ran over to her and peered at the new baby, when the girl opened her eyes Nukilik saw flashes of a girl, her eyes bright and water moving to her will. She saw a warrior as well as a healer. Nukilik watched the girl live and love those around her fiercely. She would grow into a beautiful young woman that would fight for what she would believe in and help those in need. As her vision cleared she smiled down at her sister.  
“Katara,” she breathed. Kya, the only one able to hear, looked up in shock.  
“What did you say?” She asked. Nukilik’s gaze never left her little sister.  
“She’s Katara, she’s gonna be beautiful,” she said. Kya and Hakoda looked at Nukilik in confusion, how could she possibly know Katara’s name? She hadn't been told yet. Kanna moved forward to kneel beside the girl.  
“Nukilik,” she began, “did you see your sister?” Nukilik looked up at her gran gran and nodded.  
“She’s gonna be beautiful gran gran. Strong, warrior, healer, bender,” Nukilik tried to explain what she had seen with her limited vocabulary.  
“Have you seen anything else like with Katara?” Kanna asked, watching the young girl intently. Nukilik considered, then nodded and pointed to Sokka.  
“Mm, Sokka, older, he a warrior, strong, good leader, and Bato. He's dad's good friend. Helped with the arctic hippo," she said. Kanna looked over at her grandson then to her granddaughters, finally she turned to Hakoda and Kya. She took a breath and turned back to Nukilik.  
“You must listen to me Nukilik. You mustn't tell anyone that you can see these visions, it could be dangerous for those outside the water tribe to hear of them. We want to protect you, so these must remain a secret. Do you understand?” Nukilik studied her gran gran’s expression and found worry under the sternness. She jerkingly nodded to show her understanding. Kanna smiled at her granddaughter.  
“Do not worry, we'll keep you safe. Now is not a time to worry, you have a new sister,” Hakoda said smiling widely at his family. With that the serious air around them turned to joy and the family all smiled. 

The next morning word was spread around the village of Katara’s birth and the family was visited by many wishing to congratulate the family. The adults were a bit frazzled with it all that was happening. Kya was still in bed recovering from the night before, Kanna and Hakoda's time was taken up with all the visitors so they didn't have time for the other two children. Nukilik, noticing this, decided that she would try to help and ease the strain of the morning. Standing, she made her way over to Sokka and pulled him up.  
"Come, come Sokka, time for dressing," she said, pulling out some clothing for the boy. She dressed him, then moved over to where the food was kept. Rummaging around she found enough for their breakfast and they both ate. Once finished Nukilik moved over to Kanna to ask if they could play outside.  
"You need to have breakfast first, then you can go. Just wait a moment and I'll get it ready," Kanna said.  
"I did already, you and dad are busy. Mummy tired, so I help," Nukilik said. Kanna looked down at Nukilik and smiled.  
"Thank you Nukilik, that was very thoughtful of you. In that case why don't you and your brother go out and play then," she said. Nukilik grinned and pulled her brother out to play for the day. While her mother was recovering Nukilik continued to help out where she could to take some of the strain off Kanna. Kanna began to set her manageable chores to accomplish throughout the day. Even after Kya had recovered Nukilik continued to do these chores to try and show her parents how much she appreciated them. The adults would smile whenever they saw Nukilik sweeping out the tent or helping Kya hang out the washing to dry. 

As more and more time passed Nukilik began to become more and more fluent with their language. Occasionally she would have more visions, most notably when she looked into Sokka or Katara's eyes. Only Bato was told of the true nature of these episodes, the rest of the village came to believe that it was the result of the head injury that Nukilik had received. It wasn't that the tribe was untrustworthy, only that the information was too precious to risk getting out. Due to this belief the village all treated Nukilik with caution and care. Nukilik never took much notice of this, she knew that she wasn't fragile so she continued to live her life as any child would. She did her chores, played with the other children and looked after her younger siblings. Her life and family were amazing and she was so lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo what is this another chapter? It's a wee bit shorter then the last sorry but I felt that this was a good place to stop. I will say that the minimum word count of a chapter is 3000 and the first chapter just had a mind of it's own. I hope you enjoy it, as the tags promise I am trying to bring all the family fluff for my babies. I truly hope you enjoy this and I can't wait to bring you more. Honestly I haven't felt this motivated in years so yay. Anyway, tell me how you think I am doing as I said before comments fuel my creativity and motivation. See you next time.


	3. Chapter 3: Becoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey ho enjoy.

Time in the village moved quickly, as it did, the days grew longer and Nukilik experienced the midnight sun for the first time. She found it strange to go to bed when the sun was up, but it was even stranger during winter for the sun to never rise. Nukilik enjoyed most the months between, the setting sun had a familiarity to it and often she found her vision doubling showing another sky with a different sun, still equally as beautiful. During this time Nukilik watched both her siblings grow. Katara became a bright eyed toddler that would follow dutifully after her big siblings. As he grew, this began to annoy Sokka and she tried to leave Katara behind. One fateful day when Sokka tried this by encircling Katara with a wall of snow and running Katara became annoyed herself. All she wanted to do was play with her big brother. Filled with this feeling and gave a pull to the snow around her, and it moved. The village stilled and Katara, none the wiser, simply toddled after her big brother. Before she could reach him Hakoda scooped her up with a happy cry.   
“My little girl is a water bender! Both my little girls are water benders!” He cried. The village cheered with him. Nukilik smiled softly, she had seen how special her little sister would be and quietly revelled in others acknowledging it. Katata would be well loved. Looking around her smile fell, Sokka stood to the side watching the proceedings with an unfamiliar look in his eyes. Nukilik moved over to him.  
“Hey little brother, what’s on your mind?” She asked, her speech had grown exponentially over the year of learning. Sokka looked up and was silent for a moment.  
“I’m okay Uki, Katara’s magic isn’t she?” He asked. Nukilik smiled gently at his calling bending magic.  
“Well, she has bending if that’s what you mean,” she said, ruffling Sokka’s head causing him to smile.   
“Yeah she’s special,” he finished with a big grin on his face. Nukilik smiled back, giving him a side hug. 

Over the next month, Sokka became more and more interested in learning from their father how to be a man. This led to many an accident. Such as one where Sokka, seeing his father working hard to bring food for the family, decided to try his hand at fishing. This led to Nukilik finding her brother sniffling in the corner of their tent trying to remove the fishhook with another fishhook, unsuccessfully. Rushing over she pulled his hand to her.   
“I’ll get gran gran,” she said, moving to leave. Sokka grabbed her with his good hand and shook his head.   
“No, I can do it, I’ll fix it myself,” he said. Nukilik looked on dumbfoundedly at Sokka.  
“Like you were doing with the second fish hook?” She asked incredulously. Sokka to her horror nodded.  
“I don’t need help,” he reaffirmed.   
“No Sokka you do,” Nukilik said, trying to drag the boy out.   
“No! No! No! I can do it myself!” Sokka yelled. At his yell Hakoda walked in.   
“What’s going on here?” He asked. When his eyes fell on Sokka’s bloody hand he swore and ran over to them. “Sokka, how did this happen?” He asked, looking over the hooks. At the question Sokka burst into tears.  
“I just *hic* wanted to *hic* help you,” he cried, hiccuping.   
“Sokka, you’re only five son. There will be plenty of time to help when you’re older,” Hakoda soothed gently.   
“But I need *hic* to do something,” Sokka rebuked.  
“Why little brother? Why do you need to do this?” Nukilik asked with a frown. Sokka turned his watering blue eyes to her.  
“Uki’s magic,” Sokka stated. Nukilik frowned in confusion.  
“What does my bending have to do with-”   
“And Tara’s magic,” Sokka interrupted.  
“We both have bending, yes, why is that important?” Nukilik asked. Sokka stared at Nukilik for a long time with his big blue eyes.  
“You’re special,” he finally whispered. Nukilik jolted, a vision of a meteor and a sword flashed across her eyes. How could she have missed her brother’s insecurities. Hadn’t she told him how special he was? Tears filled her eyes as she realised she hadn’t. She had sung praises over Katara, but never once could she remember telling Sokka how very special he was. And oh how special he would be. She thought of the young man she saw when she looked in his eyes. He would be wonderful.  
“Oh Sokka, you’re special too,” she cried.  
“No I’m not! I’m not magic and not special. So I need to get better, to be special,” Sokka said, shaking his head vehemently. Nukilik looked up at Hakoda imploringly.   
“Sokka, look at me,” Hakoda ordered gently. When Sokka didn't look Hakoda turned his head. “Do you think I’m special Sokka? Is your mother special? How about gran gran and Bato? Are they special?” He asked. Sokka nodded quickly.  
“You’re all the best,” he cried. Hakoda smiled softly.  
“But we don’t have bending Sokka, doesn’t that make us not special?” Hakoda pressed. Sokka’s eyes went wide.  
“No no no, you’re amazing daddy. You’re strong and so is mama and gran gran and Bato,” Sokka said.  
“Well then Sokka, you are special too. Because you are the smartest little boy I have ever met and you’re my little boy. That makes you very special,” Hakoda said. Sokka searched his father’s face for a lie, finding none he turned to Nukilik. She smiled, tears in her eyes.  
“You’re going to be amazing Sokka, you’re gonna be the best warrior I’ve ever seen and I’m so, so proud you’re my family. But for now you’re just gonna be my little brother and that’s all I want you to be,” Nukilik said. She leaned forward and hugged Sokka, mindful of his hand. With those declarations Sokka began to cry again, great heaving sobs of relief filled the tent. Hakoda pulled his two children into his arms and held them through their tears. When they finished the three untangled.   
“Alright Sokka, let's fix your hand up,” Hakoda said, taking Sokka’s hand and assessing the hooks. “Okay, this shouldn’t be too hard. Can you be brave Sokka while I finish this?” Sokka nodded, his face screwing up determinately. With one last reassuring smile Hakoda began removing the hooks. A few more tears were shed but finally the hooks were free, as Hakoda turned to get a needle and thread to sew the wound shut Nukilik came forward. Quickly she bent some water and held her hands over the wound coaxing healing within it. The two boys watched in awe as the wound healed before their eyes.   
“How’d you do that Uki?” Sokka asked. Nukilik smiled.  
“Tui taught me,” was all she said. Hakoda looked at his daughter in shock. Sokka with childlike innocence nodded satisfied with that answer, he grabbed Nukilik’s hand and pulled her outside to play leaving their stunned father behind. 

That evening after all the children were asleep Hakoda sat staring at the fire, thinking over what Nukilik had said. He pondered whether it was possible for his daughter to have actually been taught by Tui then decided that she most likely was confused. She had regained some of her memories from the before but each time she told of them it showed how all of them seemed to be warped. She would talk about great metal cities and animals that did not exist. Kanna had proposed that her mind may be creating images that could represent what her life had been like. The great metal city she always spoke of may have simply been a tent that was large in the eyes of a child and maybe her mind was warping the animals she had seen. By that logic the one she called Tui might simply be an important figure in her life, the one who taught her to water bend. The more he thought of this the more he wondered if this mysterious teacher was still out there. If they were he needed to find them. He had two young daughters that needed to be taught water bending and there wasn’t anyone to teach them here.   
“You seem to be thinking hard my son,” Kanna said, pulling Hakoda’s attention to her.   
“I have made a decision,” he said, the women watched, waiting for him to continue. “We know that Nukilik has been taught the basics of waterbending. There is a chance that whoever taught her is still out there. I must go search for them. We have been blessed by two waterbenders in out tribe, if there is someone to teach them they must be found,” He finished. Kanna nodded and Kya sighed.  
“How long do you plan on being gone?” Kya asked.  
“A few months at most, I’ll leave in a few weeks,” Hakoda said, pulling his wife into his arms. She sighed again.  
“Alright my love, see if you can find this teacher then come back to me,” Hakoda smiled.  
“I’ll always come back love,” he said, kissing her forehead. 

Two weeks later the village all came to see their chief off. Hakoda looked out at all those that had come to wish him well and smiled, eyes focusing on Bato.  
“You’re in charge while I’m gone,” he said.  
“I’ll take good care of everything,” Hakoda smiled, already knowing Bato would, then he turned to his family. He bent down to be level with his children.  
“Sokka you will be the man of the house while I’m gone, be strong and listen to your mother. Katara, my snowflake, I love you and I’ll be back soon. Nukilik, take care of your siblings for me, and your mother,” he pulled all three into his arms and squeezed them tightly. Letting go he turned to his mother, no words were spoken and they embraced warmly. Finally came his wife he and Kya embraced and shared a few quiet words, parting with one last kiss. With a final wave Hakoda left the village in search of a waterbending teacher. 

The next two months passed slowly for the family. The children were constantly waiting for their father to come in the door. Katara being only three did not quite understand why her daddy had to leave and was constantly asking for him. Nukilik tried to explain to her that he would be coming home soon but even she was having a hard time finding joy without her dad’s presence. Sokka took his job as man of the house very seriously and was always ensuring he knew where the rest of the family were. He tried to pretend that he wasn’t bothered by fathers absence but when his sixth birthday came and Hakoda was still gone he broke down in tears clinging to his mother, unable to enjoy the day without his father. It was a week after this that shouts were heard throughout the village one evening. The family all rushed outside, smiling widely when they saw that Hakoda had returned. The children barreled into his legs, all thrilled to see Hakoda back. Kya calmly walked over and kissed his cheek before picking up Katara and walking inside to serve her husband a bowl of stewed sea prunes. Hakoda sighed and soaked in the feeling of being home as he ate his food. Once finished he asked them all how they had been.  
“You missed my birthday,” Sokka said with a small sniffle.   
“I know I’m sorry son, I tried to get back in time but the gifts I commissioned took longer than I expected and delayed me,” Hakoda explained. All three children perked up at the prospect of gifts.   
“You got presents?” Katara asked, eyes wide. Hakoda laughed and nodded, turning to his pack he pulled out three bundles.   
“For Katara and Nukilik I brought these,” he said, pulling out two beautiful water skins. “They’re so that you always have water on you to bend with,” the two girls cheered and took the presents.  
“Thank you daddy, they’re beautiful,” Nukilik said, fastening her’s around her waist. Hakoda smiled and turned to Sokka, the last bundle in hand.  
“Now Sokka, I am truly sorry to have missed your birthday, but I hope it’s not too late to give you a gift,” Sokka nodded, bouncing with excitement and reaching forward. Hakoda laughed and handed the gift over. When Sokka pulled back the cloth he gasped. There lying on his lap was a finely crafted boomerang sitting in it’s holster.   
“This is for me?” he asked, pulling the weapon out.  
“Yes son. I’ll teach you how to fight with it, like my father taught me,” Sokka looked up at his father and a large grin split his face at Hakoda’s words.   
“Thank you dad!” he cried, barreling into Hakoda’s chest, “it’s the best present ever,” he professed. The rest of the night was filled with love and laughter as the family celebrated Hakoda’s return. 

That evening the adults sat around the fire. Hakoda sighed and looked at the two women.  
“I could find no one able to teach the girls waterbending. The closest I found to a waterbender was someone able to create those two waterskins that I gave the girls,” he confessed. Kya reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
“We knew it was unlikely that there was someone out there Hakoda, don’t punish yourself for trying,” Kya said softly. Kanna nodded.   
“Nukilik will simply have to teach Katara what she knows, they may not be formally trained, but they will still be able to experiment and learn as they grow,” Kanna said. Hakoda sighed again but nodded.  
“I just wish that we could help them,” he said. The others in the tent nodded. 

The next few years went by in a blur. Sokka spent time with his father and the other warriors of the tribe. Learning how to use his boomerang to defend himself, as well as how to track and hunt. Katara soon was old enough to start learning from Nukilik, the little she knew about bending. The two would often be found, after their chores were complete, in a secluded part of the village practicing. They began by circling water between them feeling the push and pull of their element. In time Nukilik began to teach more defensive maneuvers. Katara often begged Nukilik to teach her more offencive techniques, but Nukilik wanted to ensure that she would first know how to defend herself. Finally Nukilik began to teach Katara the few offensive moves she knew. Katara, took to them like a fish to water. Where Nukilik was more inclined to use her bending in defence, Katara was more likely to strike first. Katara was fierce and quick, often as she became more proficient, Nukilik found herself acquainted with the floor. Katara had even been able to combine the moves she had and create new, more advanced techniques that she would teach to Nukilik. Nukilik never resented this, she knew that her soul was made to heal rather than fight. She was simply proud of her sister for coming so far at such a young age. Where Nukilik far outmatched Katara though was in healing. This was mostly due to the fact that Nukilik had not found the time to teach Katara the art of healing when Katara was so focussed on combat. However, no one could deny that Nukilik would be considered a prodigy. With the knowledge she learnt from Tui and the memories that would come to her from her before, Nukilik soon began assisting Kanna, Kya and Tapeesa, the village healers. Under their tutelage her proficiency bloomed. The village was proud of their two benders, one becoming a great warrior that would even spar with the men in her tribe to further hone her skills. The other a healer, kind and patient. Her healing touch used to sooth injuries and wipe tears. Nukilik found a rhythm in her day, the morning was dedicated to chores and waterbending with her sister. Then she would spend the rest of the day learning from the healers. In the afternoon she would dedicate some time to Sokka and watch his progress. The evenings were for family as a whole, unless she, Kanna and Kya were called away to help an injury. She went to bed each night feeling accomplished and happy with her life. Sighing in contentment Nukilik closed her eyes and let sleep take her.

It was pitch black, not a single star in the sky. Nukilik spun around in the dark, her heart rate picked up and her breath became labored. Panic was just setting in when the sun burst over the horizon, the snow sparkled beautifully and the clouds seemed to be on fire. Nukilik watched the dawn in awe of the beauty before her. A deep chuckle came from behind her. Nukilik spun around and was again frozen in awe again. Before her stood a tall man, his skin a sunkissed bronze, long tresses of black hair fell past his shoulders. His golden eyes seemed familiar and she remembered. She had caught a glimpse of this man once before, just before she woke up for the first time in her village.   
“Hello young one,” the man said in a deep smooth voice that captivated Nukilik.  
“Who are you?” She breathed. He smiled at her.  
“My name in Agni, the spirit of the sun,” he said with a slight bow.   
“Nukilik,” Nukilik said, kneeling down to bow. Agni chuckled and pulled her back to her feet.  
“You needn’t bow to me, young one. Come now, let me see how you have grown,” He said running a hand over her hair. Nukilik stood blushing before the man.   
“I’m dreaming aren’t I?” She finally asked. He smiled gently at her and nodded.   
“Yes young one, we cannot connect to you like this in the waking world. We must wait until you enter the land of dreams where we can walk together. We cannot do this often though,” Agni explained.   
“Why did you come?” Nukilik asked. Agni’s smile dimmed and he sighed. He looked over at the sun hovering over the horizon.   
“I come to you with a warning, and a request. You have lived your life in the shelter of your village, the wider world has barely touched you as we designed. We have tried to give you a childhood that is worth remembering, but the world will soon come to you,” Agni paused and looked down to Nukilik who watched him attentively. “My people have become deaf to me. They have been warped by corrupt rulers that have used their loyalty as a weapon. They are coming young one. I wish to give you a warning so that I may spare you some pain so that you in turn may spare me pain,” Agni watched the girl attentively.   
“What do you mean?” As she asked the world seemed to flicker.   
“We don’t have much time, you must listen to me Nukilik. When the snow turns black you must find your mother, go to her as quickly as possible and you must not leave her. Stay by her side and you will know what to do. Do you understand young one?” Nukilik nodded.  
“I understand,” Agni smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.  
“I wish you luck,” with those words Nukilik found her eyes blinking open. She sat up and looked around. Standing she moved outside. The sun was just breaking over the horizon, with eyes closed she breathed deeply enjoying the sun kissing her skin. Opening her eyes she nodded and turned back to the tent determined to keep her family safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man I'm just pumping these out. Probably due to the lack of any other entertainment. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Honestly I'm quite proud of this one. so any way here you are. Comment to tell me what you think and anything that could be improved (if you decided to do that please be gentle). See you next time.


	4. Chapter 4: Getting ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hey ho enjoy

All the children in the village were told of the war, they lived with it affecting every aspect of their lives. However, not many actively asked about it, it had been a constant for them, none of the children could remember how devastating the Fire Nation raids had been. Therefore Hakoda was confused when Nukilik seeked him out to ask about the war. She had found him while he was sharpening his weapons. She stood for a minute seemingly debating about what to say. Hakoda waited, letting her find her words.  
“The Fire Nation hurt our people, didn’t they,” she said in a quiet voice. Hakoda watched his thirteen year old daughter and nodded cautiously. “Why? Why did they hurt us?” She asked. Hakoda sighed, unsure of where this had come from he motioned for her to sit.   
“Well that’s a hard question to answer Uki. I don’t know where to begin,” Hakoda said.  
“At the beginning would be best,” Nukilik said. Hakoda chuckled a bit then nodded.  
“I suppose you’re right. You remember the stories that your mum and I tell about the Avatar?” Nukilik nodded. “Good, well, as you know the Avatar was the only person able to bend all four elements and how he vanished a long time ago. Well what we didn’t tell you was how the Avatar’s disappearance coincided with the beginning of the war,”  
“It did?” Hakoda nodded.  
“The last recorded Avatar was Avatar Roku of the fire nation. It’s said that before his death he opposed Sozin and kept the fire nation in check. When he died so too did his influence. About a decade or so after Avatar Roku’s death the Fire Nation started the war. They attacked and somehow eradicated the Air Nomads in a single day. Now do you remember the Avatar cycle?” Nukilik nodded.  
“First comes fire, then air, then water and last comes earth,” Nukilik recited dutifully.   
“That’s right, the cycle also told of the order of the nation that the Avatar would be born in. Now what nation would the Avatar be born into after the Fire Nation?” Understanding dawned in Nukilik’s face.  
“The Air Nomads,” she breathed “and then the water tribe,” she looked at Hakoda in horror. Hakoda solemnly nodded.  
“Yes, they knew that a fully realised Avatar would be too powerful for them so they stopped the Avatar from ever gaining that power. Then after they destroyed the Air Nomads they turned their eyes onto the Water Tribes. While the Northern Tribe is too well defended to defeat the Southern Tribe didn’t have the same defences. The Fire Nation came again and again, each time more men died and more waterbenders were dragged away. Until there was none left. We were once a thriving people, but now we are greatly weakened. You and Katara are the first waterbenders born since the raids ended. You have given us all hope, my strong one,” Hakoda finished pulling Nukilik close. 

Nukilik seemed to take a moment to absorb this.   
“How were the waterbenders captured?” She asked suddenly and so it went on. Hakoda was troubled by the line of questioning that his daughter was asking. She asked question after question about the raids and what the Fire Nation was capable of. He had even found her asking Bato or Kanna about the war when Hakoda refused or was unable to answer a question. What worried him most was whenever he asked her why she was asking, Nukilik would dance around the question. She evaded and distracted gracefully meaning Hakoda never got the answers he wanted. In the end he decided to let the matter drop, but a sense of unease caused him to increase the patrols around the village. He only hoped that he was being paranoid as his men said and Nukilik wasn’t sensing an incoming storm. 

Katara was confused by her older sister’s behaviour. Nukilik had never enjoyed fighting, much preferring to spend time working on her healing. In the last few days she had been badgering Katara to train with her incessantly. She trained more and more, she seemed almost desperate to learn all that she could about fighting. It wasn’t that Katara disliked this change, normally their roles were reversed and it was her that was always asking to train. It was just strange. However, at eight Katara simply decided to take this time with her sister and enjoy it. Although there were a few things about this change that Katara did dislike. Namely Nukilik’s new routine of waking Katara long before the sun had risen and forcing them both outside to train. That is what had happened again this morning.   
“Uki, can’t we sleep in?” Katara whined as they began their daily routine. Nukilik shook her head and looked at the younger girl.  
“Weren’t you the one who was asking me a week ago if we could train more?” she asked. Katara groaned.   
“I didn’t mean this early. I love training with you Uki, but we’ve been getting up earlier to start and finishing later than normal. Couldn’t we just finish later and sleep like we were before?” She asked.  
“But isn’t it nice to practice under the moon?” Nukilik asked, ponting up to the moon that hung full in the sky. Katara considered this and sighed, she had to admit that under the moon she felt more powerful than ever.  
“I suppose it is a bit nice. I just wish I could sleep more,” she said. Nukilik smiled down at her.   
“I know, but we’ve improved so much since we started this. Your defence is stronger than ever and I have been winning more than before,” Nukilik said with a cheerful smile. Katara giggled.  
“Yeah Uki, you’re not losing quite as often as you used to,” she teased with a smile.  
“Oh them be fightin’ words sister,” Nukilik growled. With a grin on her face Nukilik shot forth trying to catch Katara off guard. Katara laughed as she dodged and retaliated, freezing Nukilik’s boots to the ground. It was nice to spend more time with her sister she thought, even if they did have to get up super early. The two sparred until the sun peeked over the horizon and the two were called in for breakfast. 

Kanna watched Nukilik with a hint of suspicion as the girl removed her gloves. Three year old Miki had managed to climb an ice wall and had been brought screaming to Kanna. Nukilik must have heard because she was also there within minutes. She had been becoming more and more involved with healing the injuries of the village. Kanna wouldn’t be suspicious if she hadn’t also noticed that Nukilik had also increased her sparring with Katara and even more concerning pestering Hakoda with questions about the war and more specifically the raids. Hakoda had even increased the patrols which was rather telling of how disturbed her son was by this questioning. Nukilik looked up at Kanna.   
“I think the bones fractured gran gran,” Nukilik said. Kanna nodded, shaking the thoughts from her head, for now she had a patient.   
“Can you help her?” The girls mother asked, trying to sooth her daughter.   
“Of course Yura, I’ve healed bones many times. How is Yuka?” She asked as she pulled water around her hands.   
“She’s good, waiting at home with Aput,” The mother said. Nukilik nodded and continued asking questions about the family. Kanna smiled at Nukilik’s ability to distract and sooth worried parents. She had always had a remarkable bedside manner, always knowing just what to say to keep the patients calm. The water around Nukilik’s hands began to glow a soft blue and the child was entranced by the pretty light. Once the light dissipated Nukilik turned to the young girl.  
“Does that feel better Miki?” she asked softly. Miki stilled and poked her arm. She smiled up at Nukilik and nodded, reaching up, Miki hugged Nukilik tightly.   
“What do you say Miki?” Yura prompted.   
“‘Ank you Uki,” Miki responded.  
“You’re welcome Miki, be careful now,” Nukilik said while waving the girl and her mother out. Kanna watched the girl replace the water.  
“You’ve been coming more and more to help the injured,” Kanna finally noted. Nukilik halfway to the door stopped.  
“Well I heard Miki from halfway across the village. I couldn’t just let it be without helping when she was obviously hurt,” Nukilik said.   
“What about yesterday, you spent all day here waiting for people to come in injured. The only reason you weren’t in here today was because Katara dragged you out to train. Nukilik, you’ve been using bending for more and more trivial injuries. Don’t deny it Nukilik, you treated a simple bruise yesterday with bending. I want to know why,” Nukilik looked everywhere but at Kanna.   
“I just want to make sure that I’m as good as I can be, isn’t it good to practice,” she tried. Kanna scrutinised the girl closely.  
“Tell Nukilik, have you had another vision?” Kanna asked. Nukilik’s head shot up.  
“No, no, no. I haven’t had a vision for a while. I, I guess I have just had a feeling that something was going to happen. I want to be ready for it,” Nukilik finished looking down at her feet. Kanna hummed.  
“Alright, if you do have a vision you will tell us, understand?” Nukilik nodded feverishly then left the tent. Kanna sighed when she was out of sight and decided to go talk to her son. 

Kya had noticed Nukilik had begun acting strange around her. She would often be caught sending furtive glances at Kya. She was becoming more and more tactile, seeming to need physical contact to reassure herself that Kya was there. One night Kya decided that she was going to get to the bottom of this and find out where this behaviour was coming from. After dinner she beckoned her daughter to her side. Nukilik rushed to her side, after a hug she sat down watching her mother intently.   
“Turn around sweetie, I haven’t done your hair for a while,” Kya said. Nukilik smiled brightly and spun around on her knees. Kya let her hands fall into the gentle rhythm of brushing and braiding while Nukilik relaxed into her hold. A gentle smile formed over Kya’s face as her daughter gave a contented sigh.   
“I love it when you do this,” Nukilik said, shivering with delight.  
“Do you remember when Sokka would braid your hair as a child and you would have to come to me to untangle it,” Kya said with a chuckle.  
“He used to make it such a mess,” Nukilik said grinning as well.  
“I never did understand why you let him do it. You would sit so patiently while he pulled and knotted your hair only to come to me to fix you up again,” Kya said wistfully.  
“I couldn’t say no mum he would look up at me so hopefully and be so proud when he finished. He could have asked me if he could shave it off and I probably would have said yes if he smiled sweetly enough. Besides, I loved it when you untangled it then braided it all pretty,” Nukilik explained. Kya hummed and smiled. She continued for a while, taking her time with the braid.   
“Nukilik, is there a reason that you’ve been so… attached to me lately?” Kya asked quietly. Nukilik tensed under her hands, but couldn’t escape with her mother’s hands tangled in her hair.  
“Umm, no, no reason,” Nukilik said too quickly.  
“Please sweetie, I just want to help,” Kya said, turning Nukilik around. Looking into her eyes she watched as emotions flitted quickly across Nukilik’s face.   
“I just… you’re so good mum. You’re kind and know whenever there’s something going on. You have always been there to give me hugs and love and I don’t want anything to happen to you,” Nukilik trailed off to a whisper. Kya stilled.  
“Did you see something?” she asked.  
“No, like I told gran gran, I haven’t had a vision for a long time. It’s just a feeling, I wanna make sure that it’s wrong,” Nukilik said, determination glinting in her eyes. Looking into her face Kya smiled, tears misting her eyes.   
“Nothing is gonna happen to me sweetie, I love you all too much to leave you,” she said.   
“You promise?” Nukilik’s voice almost cracked with desperation.  
“I promise sweetie,” Kya reaffirmed, pulling Nukilik into a deep embrace. Once they parted Kya finished the braid and Nukilik went to bed. 

Sokka missed his big sister. She had been growing more and more distant from him lately. It took him a while to notice, but once he did it was all he could think about. All her time was spent with the rest of the family. He could never find her when she wasn't busy. In the morning she was with Katara sparing or creating new moves with their waterbending. Sokka didn’t much like watching them as he always ended up either soaking wet or almost skewered by ice. For most of the day she sat in the healing hut waiting for injured patients or going over knowledge with gran gran. He’d been banned from the healing hut when he wasn’t injured after he nearly knocked a patient over once, so he couldn’t spend time with her there. In the evenings she spent all her time with their mum braiding their hair and talking which was much too girly for Sokka. The most heartbreaking blow for Sokka though was that the time Nukilik used to spend solely with Sokka while he trained she now spent with their dad. He found out the day he first noticed her absence and was told off for slacking when he was discovered by Hakoda spying on the two. So yes Sokka missed his sister and he wanted to find out why she was avoiding him. However, seeing as he couldn’t approach her during the day, or the evening, he waited until she was in bed to strike. 

Sokka saw his chance when, after Nukilik finished braiding Kya’s hair, she moved over to their sleeping space. Sokka followed quickly and sat down on their bed. It took a few minutes for Nukilik to notice him which caused Sokka’s insides to twist uncomfortably. When she did turn around Nukilik froze.  
“Hey little brother, do you want to talk to me?” she asked, smiling gently. Sokka nodded and sat down. Sokka stared at his sister until she seemed to squirm under his gaze.  
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said. Nukilik seemed stunned.  
“What do you mean?” she asked, confused.   
“I mean what I said. You’ve been avoiding me. I wanna know why,” Sokka said. Nukilik blinked Owlishly.   
“What are you talking about Sokka. I’m not avoiding y-”   
“Yes you are! You haven’t spent any time with me for a month! You barely even say hello in the morning. Sometimes you don’t even say hello,” Sokka interrupted, trailing to a whisper. Nukilik sat stunned. “You spend all your time with everyone else, did I do something?” He asked when Nukilik shook her head Sokka seemed to crumble into himself. “If I didn’t do anything, does that mean you don’t love me anymore Uki?” Sokka asked with a soft sob. At the sound Nukilik rushed forward and pulled Sokka to her chest.   
“No, Sokka, don’t say that. I love you so much. You’re my little brother, the most smart and special boy I know. I’ve just been really busy. I’m sorry you thought I was avoiding you, I would never do that on purpose. I’m so, so sorry little warrior. You are my family and family is the most important thing in the world,” Nukilik said, stroking his hair and wiping his tears.   
“You mean it?” Sokka asked. Nukilik nodded furiously.   
“I do little brother. How about tomorrow we spend a day together, you can choose what we do. Does that sound like fun?” Sokka smiled up at his sister and nodded.   
“Okay that sounds good,” he said and hugged her tight. The two fell asleep holding tightly to each other. The rest of the family who had heard the interaction watched the two fall asleep then went to bed themselves. They all decided that they would make sure that Sokka and Nukilik had the best day possible.

The next morning Sokka woke up to the smell of his favourite breakfast, meat. He groggily sat up and smiled when he saw his mum at the fire.   
“Morning little brother,” Nukilik greeted. Sokka smiled up at his big sister as she pulled him into a hug. “Today Sokka, you are in charge,” she said with a big smile. Sokka cheered and hopped up.   
“Good morning my little warrior,” Kya said, handing Sokka his breakfast as he bounded over to her. Sokka gave a happy woop and dug into his breakfast. The rest of the family joined and they all ate happily chatting to each other. Once they finished Hakoda turned to his children.  
“Bato and I were talking yesterday and we were wondering if you kids wanted to go penguin sledding today?” He asked. Sokka’s cheers decided it and as soon as they were ready Hakoda and the children went out to meet Bato. The children spent the whole morning bribing the creatures into carrying them down the hills around the village. They laughed so hard they cried when Hakoda was bowled over by a particularly hungry penguin after the fish in his pocket. By the time they came back for lunch Sokka was smiling so wide it hurt.  
“Well, little brother what do you want to do now?” Nukilik asked after lunch. Sokka took a moment to think then a diabolical grin spread over his face. Leaning in, he whispered something in Nukilik’s ear which caused her to choke on the water she was drinking.   
“You sure?” she asked once she had her breath under control. Sokka just nodded. “Alright, I’ll tell Tara and we can start,” the adults in the room watched on with suspicion as the children planned. For a few hours the children seemed to disappear and none of the adults could say where they went. When the children did reappear it was to begin what would be known as the biggest snow war that had happened in years. No one besides the elders were safe and even a few of them joined in. The fight lasted for several hours with two distinct factions appearing, led by Hakoda and Kya. Strikes and counter strikes were made until it was declared that the children who in the last five minutes turned on the adults and won, with two waterbenders on their side it was inevitable. Everyone went home happy and dry, thanks to Katara and Nukilik.

Once everyone had fallen asleep three figures snuck out of their tent and tiptoed to where they had left a bundle of stolen objects. The tallest and shortest began bending the snow and sculpting the form of a boy. Sokka smiled and looked through the bag of ceremonial objects, he frowned when he noted that one thing was missing.   
“Tara,” he whispered, “where’s the headdress?”   
“What are you talking about, it’s in the bag,” Katara hissed back.  
“No it’s not,” Sokka said, showing the bag's contents.   
“What, that’s impossible, you saw me take it,” Katara said, moving over. Leaving Nukilik to finish the detail work of the sculpture, the two searched. They became more and more frantic, they couldn’t have lost it.   
“Looking for this?” A voice asked. All three gulped and turned to see Kanna holding the headdress. “What a fascinating sculpture,” she said looking over the form that looked strikingly like her grandson. The three gulped and fidgeted, waiting for the scolding they knew that was coming. Kanna walked up to the ice and placed the headdress on top.  
“Well what are you doing just standing there, let’s finish this before your parents find us,” She said. The children gaped for a moment then broke out in great smiles. Quickly they finished dressing up the figure of Sokka dressed in the ceremonial garb of a warrior for the village to find in the morning. The stars twinkled merrily as they looked down on the four. Sokka smiled wide when he laid his head down. He wouldn’t change his family for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this? Two chapters in one day? Man, I have genuinely never been so proud of myself. Anyway hope you enjoyed this. See you next time.


	5. Chapter 5: It all changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha ha hmm well enjoy.

It had been two weeks since the now dubbed ‘Sokka’ day and one and a half months since Nukilik had first received the dream from Agni. She was beginning to believe that it may have just been a dream. The day started normally, Nukilik woke up and had breakfast..After she realised how much she was unsettling and hurting her family, Nukilik decided to create more free time for herself. Katara also benefited from this arrangement by being able to sleep longer in the mornings. After breakfast and chores the two girls went out to practice their bending. With Nukilik calming down it felt less like a chore and more like fun as they sparred. Nukilik acquainted herself with the ground when Katara moved the ice below her feet. Laughing she picked herself up.  
“That’s a new move isn’t it little sister,” she said beaming down “can you show me?” Katara grinned widely and demonstrated the move. She bent her knees and pushed with her palms facing out. Nukilik smiled and tried to copy Katara’s movements. It took her a few tries but eventually she managed. The movement felt different from most other bending they had done before. Usually waterbending felt graceful and, as Sokka said, flowy. It consisted of a gentle push and pull. This move felt solid and firm, almost stubborn. Nukilik would never have thought of moving like that.   
“Wow little sister, you really are the greatest waterbender in the world,” she said. Katara giggled and turned her large eyes to her sister.   
“Well you’re the best healer,” she responded. Nukilik grinned back and ruffled her hair. 

They continued to practice until lunch, after which Nukilik went to help out in the healing tent. She tended any patients that entered and in her free time questioned Kanna on how she would heal someone without bending. Kanna laughed at the question.   
“We made do with the long arduous process of natural healing,” she said teasingly. Nukilik smiled sheepishly.   
“Do you think I should bring Katara here? She should learn healing too, shouldn't she?” Kanna thought for a moment.   
“That may be wise. It is always a good idea to have capable healers and Katara is old enough to learn. Tomorrow ask her to join you,” Kanna said. Nukilik nodded and continued asking questions. This continued for a few more hours. Once finished within the healing hut Nukilik went to join Sokka and spend some time with him. She had felt so horrible that she had, even unintentionally, hurt her brother, that she had increased the time she spent with him to make up for it. Nukilik listened avidly as Sokka told her all about what he had accomplished that day during his training. He spoke with such excitement, arms gesticulating wildly to make his points. How could Nukilik have stopped doing this?  
“And then Nukilik, I was so awesome and caught my boomerang even when Aput said that I wouldn’t be able to. The look on his face was awesome and now he owes me some of Yura’s good jerk,” Sokka finished with a satisfied grin.   
“Wow you are amazing Sokka. You’ve been practicing so hard with your boomerang, I’m sure you’ll be better than dad one day,” Sokka preened at Nukilik’s praise.  
“Yeah, hey Uki do you think we could go prank Tara?” Sokka asked suddenly.   
“What are you thinking little brother?” Nukilik asked.   
“We could go throw snowballs at her.” Sokka suggested. Nukilik smiled, she Knew Katara would give back as hard as she got.   
“How about I make you a fort and you throw snowballs at her,” she suggested. Sokka nodded.   
“Okay soldier lets go,” he cried marching away. Humoring him she marched along behind. It took them a few minutes to find Katara. When they were in range Sokka grabbed some snow and flung it as Katara, hitting the back of her head. Nukilik then dropped into a stance and raised a small wall of ice between them and her. Sokka whooped and began forming snowballs as quickly as he could. Katara, having had this happen before, knew what was going on and prepared her own ammunition. When Sokka popped back up to fire another snowball, Katara’s sailed straight into his face. Sokka in retaliation jumped out of his safe hiding spot, a massive clump of snow in hand ready to throw when he stopped and looked around. 

Nukilik’s heart jammed into her throat and her stomach dropped. Falling down all around them was black snow. She froze as her vision swam, before her she saw the Southern Water Tribe, only it was larger. Many more people walked the streets and most astoundingly there were waterbenders. Scores of them, her vision followed one female waterbender in particular. Nukilik watched as the sky turned dark with ash and the snow fell black. Warriors and waterbenders came to defend the city against the Fire Nation soldiers. For a time they fought them off, but the Fire Nation’s strategy was slow and unstoppable. Their soldiers would capture a few waterbenders at a time and drag them away. After every raid there was a few less, until only one solitary woman remained. It was heart wrenching to watch her surrender after fighting so hard. Nukilik watched this woman be dragged away, stripped of her clothes and possessions, save a single comb. She watched as she was chained up in a place so dry no water could possibly reach her. Nukilik suddenly knew that this is what would happen to her and Katara if it was found out that she was a waterbender. 

When her vision returned she turned to her siblings only to find them gone. Remembering what Agni told her she ran to their home. One the way she slammed into Katara. Looking into her eyes she saw the worst possible outcome of the day, before her stood her little sister and her dad staring down at the burned corpse of Kya. Her mother’s chest seemed to have caved in, the insides were blackened colour, still smoking. As soon as it came it was gone. Nukilik turned and vomited into the snow, horrified at the image. She then turned back to Katara.   
“Go find dad, don’t bend,” was all she said as she ran on towards their tent. She couldn’t dwell on what she had seen, she had to prevent it. Bursting into the tent she saw a firebender rearing back his hand to strike her mother. With a desperate cry she forced the ice under his feet to shift, throwing his aim off. Instead of hitting the centre of Kya’s chest the fireball hit her legs, catching her clothes on fire in the process. Nukilik swiftly pulled the water from her skin and froze the man in place then ran to her mother. As quickly as she could she doused the flames but the damage had already been done. Her mother must have hit her head on the way down for she lay unconscious before her. Nukilik removed her mother's outer clothing and began assessing what damage had been done. Pulling more water from her surroundings she instantly began to try to heal her mother, falling back on information given to her by Tui over eight years ago about how to heal burns. The wound was not so great that her mother was in danger of dying, not with Nukilik’s waterbending, but Nukilik knew instinctively that she would not be able to save the leg. It was mangled beyond repair, due to the force behind the blast the lower portion was detached completely. Her mother from this day would be crippled, but at least she would be alive. Nukilik was so focused on her mother that she didn’t notice the firebender melt her ice and stand until he was right behind her. He grabbed her hair and pulled her away from Kya’s prone form.  
“It seems you were lying, you filthy savage. You’re not the last waterbender at all are you,” he said with savage glee, looking down at Kya. “Well little waterbender, what will your final words be,” he taunted, a burst of flame filling his palm.   
“Let me heal her, please. I’ll do anything you want, I won’t fight. Just please let me heal her,” Nukilik pleaded. The man looked shocked for a moment.  
“What do you mean heal her?” He asked.   
“My water bending, I can use it to heal her,” Nukilik gasped.   
“That’s impossible,” the man hissed.   
“I swear, it’s true, please. I only want to heal my mother, please,” the man stared at her hard then looked at Kya. He deliberated for a time then seemed to be struck with an idea, a predatory grin taking over his face.   
“If I allow you to heal this woman, you will surrender and come with me without a fight. You swear it?” the man asked. Nukilik nodded.  
“I swear I will, if you just let me heal her,” The man slowly lowered Nukilik down to her mother. The fire in his palm remained lit and pointed towards the two. Nukilik sighed and resumed her healing, she worked as fast as she could to promote healing and skin growth. Nukilik poured every last shred of her energy into her waterbending. By the time she could bend no more the wound looked as if a few months had gone by instead of a few minutes. As the last of the water absorbed into Kya’s skin Nukilik sluggishly grabbed a blanket and covered her mother, so she wouldn’t freeze to death. Then she fell forward unconscious. The firebender, Yon Rha, looked over the wound and smirked, picking up the unconscious girl he left the tent and headed back to his ship, the Firelord would be most pleased with his discovery.

Katara ran as fast as she could to find her father, just as he was in sight Katara was hoisted up by Yura and carried in the other direction.  
“Katara what are you doing here? We cannot lose you, you cannot fight. If they find out you’re a bender you’ll be taken away. I know you think you can fight, but there is a difference between sparring with your sister and fighting a fully trained Firebender. Waterbenders with much more training than you have been defeated, do you want to never see your family again?” Yura asked, running away from the fight and Hakoda. Katara squirmed.  
“No! I have to get to dad, I have to,” she yelled trying to escape. Yura just held tighter.   
“I can’t let you do that Katara, your father will be fine. He’s a seasoned warrior and Bato always has his back,” Yura assured. Katara growled, Yura didn’t get it. Kya could be dead now and Yura was stopping her from getting help. The only reason Katara didn’t bend her way out was Nukilik’s warning.   
“It’s not dad!” Katara cried, “mum’s in trouble, there’s someone in our house!” Yura dropped the girl in shock and she sped back to Hakoda. Frustrated tears were forming in Katara’s eyes. There was no way she would make it in time.  
“Dad, dad, I think mum’s in trouble. There’s a man in our house,” Katara cried. Hakoda stilled.  
“Kya,” he breathes and the two began sprinting to their tent. 

They ran as fast as they could, Hakoda reaching their home first. He burst into the room to find Kya lying unconscious on the ground, a blanket obscuring her body. Rushing over he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her breathing. Katara ran in, her shoulders dropped in relief when she saw her mother. She looked around the tent to see if the man was still there when her eyes fell on the smouldering pile of clothing in the corner.   
“Dad,” She called, pointing at the clothes. Hakoda looked up, the blood drained from his face and he ripped the blanket off his wife. The two stared in horror at what they found. The bedding had been stained red with blood, Kya’s dismembered leg lay at an awkward angle as if it had been tossed aside and the stump that remained was heavily scared upwards to the hip. When Katara saw this she began to wretch, all the food in her stomach splattered onto the ground at her feet. Distantly she heard her dad call out for Kanna. All Katara could think about as she was pulled from the tent was the smell of her mother’s blood and burnt flesh, as well as the image of a leg detached from a body. No matter how tightly she squeezed her eyes the picture remained. As she stared at the ground the taste of vomit still in her mouth she had a thought, where was Nuilik?

Kanna moved as fast as she could when she heard her son’s desperate call. She entered the tent and gasped. Ordering Hakoda to gather Tapeesa and Nukilik she rushed to Kya’s side. They didn’t have much time, if Nukilik wasn’t found soon Kanna… Kanna couldn’t think about that. She turned her attention to the leg Kanna paused. Reaching out she froze, the wound didn’t look as it should. The detached half was still oozing blood, so too should the stump. Only it wasn’t. Kanna gasped and passed a hand over the healed skin. Yes the scartissue was an angry red, but the fact that it had already closed over was impossible. It looked as if months of healing had gone by, the only way that could happen would be if.  
“No,” Kanna gasped. Kanna felt as if the world was crashing down around her. All she could hear was the blood pumping through her veins as her thoughts spiraled down. She sat staring at the wound unseeing. That was how Hakoda and Tapeesa found her.   
“Mother, I brought Tapeesa, but I can’t find Nukilik,” Hakoda said. Kanna turned to her son and he felt his stomach drop. Kanna had tears in her eyes as she pointed to the leg. Tapeesa raced over and her brows creased in confusion.   
“But that can’t be right,” she said. Hakoda turned to her.   
“What do you mean?” he demanded. Tapeesa glanced at Hakoda then back to Kya.  
“Well, the wound already looks healed. The only way that could happen would be if Nukilik had already…” She trailed off, understanding dawning in her eyes, “But that can’t be, Nukilik would never have left with Kya in such a state. I doubt she could, healing that much would have used up too much energy. She would likely have fallen unconscious,” Hakoda felt faint, he looked up at his mother and knew. He could almost see what had happened. She would have done anything to save her family, pushing herself into unconsciousness and leaving herself vulnerable to anyone to take. His daughter, his sweet kind girl had been taken. A guttural scream tore from his throat as he fell to his knees. Tears filled his eyes, all he could do was stare at his hands. In this one day a piece of himself had been torn away, the benders that were taken were never seen again. It felt like someone had carved out his chest, leaving him aching and hollow. 

Tapeesa watched her leader, her chief break. Tears misted her eyes. No parent should have to lose their child in such a way. She allowed herself one moment to mourn the young girl that had followed her into the healing hut asking such poniuent questions that were always so profound Tapeesa often found herself reevaluating how she treated her patients. She allowed one tear to fall then gathered herself. Nukilik had given herself to save her mother. It was all Tapeesa could do to finish what the remarkable girl had started. She ushered Hakoda and Kanna out and began to work.

When Sokka realised that the invaders were retreating he felt a surge of relief that it was over. His home was safe. The smile that had spread fell when he heard a haunting cry ring out throughout the village. Turning he ran towards the source of the sound. His heart began to beat faster as he came closer and closer to his family's tent. As he came closer his father stumbled out of the tent. He was crying. Sokka had never seen his dad cry. Sokka came to a stop in front of his dad. Hakoda looked up and saw his son, he said nothing.  
“What happened?” Sokka asked. He didn’t know if he wanted to know.  
“Your mum has been severely injured, but she should survive. Thanks to your sis-” Kanna’s voice broke as she spoke.  
“Where’s Nukilik?” Katara whispered. Sokka hadn’t even noticed her standing to the side before she spoke up. He looked up at his dad and watched the pain that flashed over his face. Hakoda took a deep breath and pulled both his children into him. He curled over them protectively and Sokka knew. The world spun around him, Katara let out a mournful wail from beside him. With that sound Sokka crumpled into his father. Hakoda held his two children silent, tears tracked down his face. How would he tell Kya what had happened? The entire village watched on as the family mourned, each and everyone felt a great sadness shroud them. The tribe would never be the same again.

Nukilik woke slowly, sleep unwilling to let her go. She groaned, feeling as if she had spent hours losing to Katara before passing out. Her entire body ached and she was cold. Nukilik reached out to try and pull her blanket up but she couldn’t move her arms. Confused, she opened her eyes and jolted up at what she found. She was in a dark metal cell, her arms were bound behind her and she was alone. Nukilik’s breath picked up as she realised what had happened and tears filled her eyes. She thought back to the waterbend she had watched in her vision and she sobbed quietly to herself. She hoped that she had been able to heal her mum enough that Tapeesa and gran gran would be able to look after her. As long as Kya was okay this would all be worth it. She would take everything the Fire Nation would throw at her as long as her family was safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well friends, I hope this was heartbreaking enough. I'm really excited for the next section of this story. I get to write my favourites now. I hope you enjoyed. So tell me how I'm going, I'd love to know what you think.


	6. Chapter 6: friends and enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So hey I hope you enjoy this. There is a bit of violence in this chapter near the end. Just felt it prudent to give a little warning.

Nukilik didn’t know how long she sat in her cell, staring at the wall. Her tears dried in the stale air. She could hardly move at all the way she was bound. Her arms ached from being kept in an unnatural position. As Nukilik was trying to find a more comfortable position, she heard a metal door open. She watched as two soldiers walked into the room. They were both male, one watched Nukilik with an unwavering gaze, staying close to the door. He looked to be the older of the two, a severe frown on his face. The other came forward, he stopped at the bars and they stared at each other. The second soldier seemed more cheerful, but even so his expression was serious. Nukilik took note of the bowl filled with rice and a waterskin sitting in the man’s hand, her stomach took that moment to grumble aloud breaking the silence. Nukilik blushed and looked away, not seeing the faint pitying look that flickered over both the soldier’s faces.  
“I’m going to open the cell door, don’t cause any trouble now,” the soldier said, reaching for a set of keys at his waist. Nukilik snapped her attention back to him. She watched as he entered her cell and Nukilik realised how vulnerable she was. Bound as she was, this man could do anything to her and Nukilik would be unable to defend herself. Her fear must have been clear on her face because the soldier stilled and raised his hands in a calming gesture.  
“Hey now I don’t freak out, I’m just gonna give you some food and water then I’ll take those chains off,” the man soothed. Nukilik tried to calm her breathing and compose herself. There wasn’t much she could do and panicking would get her nowhere. 

Taking a deep breath she nodded at the soldier. He smiled and came forward, first he brought the waterskin to her lips. Nukilik drank deeply until the water was gone entirely, then the man began feeding the girl the rice. Nukilik felt a sense of shame fill as she was unable to feed herself. The bowl was thankfully finished quickly and the soldier handed both the waterskin and bowl through the bars to the waiting hands of the other soldier. Once the bowl and skin was placed outside the door the soldier in her cell turned to the chains. Nukilik had to force her breath to slow as the man leaned into her space and began to unbind her. Once she was free she rolled and massaged her shoulders as the soldier left the cell, locking it behind him. The second man pulled out a set of red clothing. Nukilik watched him place the clothing through the bars in front of her.  
“Change into these, Commander's orders,” the soldier said. Nukilik inched forward and snatched the clothing then moved back quickly. The soldier nodded then walked back to the door. Both men remained in the room with their backs turned as Nukilik changed. Nukilik looked down as she folded her old clothing. She supposed that she should be grateful to be afforded the chance to change herself, but all she could feel was a sense of mourning for the life she had been stripped of. It felt like a final goodbye when she placed the soft blue clothing through the bars. Now all that remained of her homeland was a few beads in her hair and the necklace that hung hidden under the new red cloth. 

After gathering Nukilik’s clothing the two soldiers left her alone in her cell. Though she remained unbound, Nukilik knew that she had no chance of escape. She knew that she was on a boat that was surrounded by water, despite this Nukilik had never felt more cut off from her element. Alone Nukilik allowed herself to cry again, she gave great heaving sobs that filled the room. Nukilik didn’t realise but her cries could be heard through the door. As she cried herself to sleep the two guards that had been stationed outside her door were forced to listen to her sorrow. Hiroshi, the younger of the two, glanced at Katashi. Katashi gave almost no sign that the girl's cries affected him, but Hiroshi had been around the older long enough to recognise the tightness around his eyes for the displeasure that it was. Hiroshi knew that Katashi had a granddaughter a few years younger than the girl and was probably reminded of her. When the girl had looked away bashfully, it was a look so reminiscent of his younger sister Hiroshi had felt a stab of pity go through him. Suddenly he couldn’t see a Water Tribe savage, all he could see was a scared young girl. It made her terror even more uncomfortable when he entered her cell. Hiroshi was proud of his country, the war was in the best interest of the world. That is what he had been taught all his life, but looking in the face of a girl torn from her home Hiroshi had felt a twinge of unrest. Quickly he’d suppressed that traitorous thought and finished his job. He breathed a sigh of relief when he was relieved by the next shift and he retired for the night. However, as Hiroshi lay in his hammock the look of terror on the girl’s face wouldn’t leave his mind. Sleep for Hiroshi was elusive that night.

Nukilik was becoming accustomed to becoming aware surrounded by darkness. She waited for whoever was going to show up. The world burst into colour around her with the dawn.  
“Hello Agni,” she said, turning her head to the spirit.  
“Hello young one,” Agni said, as he came to stand by the girl. They were standing on the top of a mountain looking out over the clouds, watching them billow around them. After a time Nukilik turned back to Agni. The spirit watched as she tried to find her words.  
“Did, did I do it? Did my mum survive?” Nukilik finally asked. Agni turned fully to the girl, he smiled gently..  
“Yes young one. Your mother will survive, she was crippled and for this I am sorry,” Agni said.  
“It’s not your fault. I could only do so much, even with my bending there was no way I could have reattached her leg,” Nukilik said. Unbeknownst to her Agni was watching with sorrowful eyes.  
“That is true, however it was still my people who attacked yours, in my name no less. It was still my gift that was used to cause you harm,” Agni said. Nukilik turned to him with a puzzled expression.  
“But you told me that your people have become deaf to you,” She said “if that’s true I doubt that this attack was truly your will,”  
“It was not my will young one and yet you have still suffered,” Agni said, “I feel your suffering young one and I fear you will endure more at the hands of my people. Still, I sense no true malice from you towards them,” The spirit turned to the girl with a questioning look. Nukilik sighed and pondered the unasked question. She realised that she didn’t hate the Fire Nation people, she wondered why after all they had done to the world. Pictures flashed in her mind of the before, of learning of a great war fought there. A war thousands of times more devastating. She saw herself learning and talking about how the people were taught lies and falsehoods so that they would attack the enemy without hesitation. The pictures changed to a classroom decorated in reds and browns. A teacher stood at the front of the children. He began lecturing about how the Air Nomads instigated the war. How they had refused to feed the starving Fire Nation during a famine. How they were preparing an attack and Sozin's preemptive strike had been met with elite airbenders that had only been overcome due to the utilisation of Sozin's comet. The teacher continued on to say that despite this grievance against them the other nations sided with the Air Nomads, breaking treaties and bringing war. She watched the teacher tell the students that the Fire Nation was the superior people, with a superior element. That they simply wanted to share their knowledge with the world, it was the other nations that decided war was the only option. The teacher finished by saying that once the war was won all the nations would live peacefully under their great and powerful firelord. Nukilik came back to herself and looked up at Agni.  
“I can’t hate them, not really. They’ve been taught lies all their lives. That we are savages that broke treaties. They have been taught that we attacked first and they are only defending themselves. Even if it is a lie, how could I hate someone that loves their country and wishes to fight for it? We’re not that different, only I know some more truths than them,” Nukilik finished. Agni broke out into a wide smile, showing his perfect teeth.  
“Young one you have wisdom beyond your years. You have shown compassion towards my people,” Nukilik smiled softly at Agni and the two continued to watch the clouds around them.  
“You didn’t just bring me here to ask about what I thought of your people, did you?” Nukilik asked. Agni gave an airy chuckle.  
“Very astute young one. Last we spoke, I gave you a warning about your mother which you heeded. I also mentioned a request. I did not elaborate then because I was uncertain if you would be able to achieve this. I must confess that, while I would never wish for your capture, it does put you in an advantageous place,” Agni said.  
“What do you mean advantageous?” Nukilik watched Agni carefully.  
“There are events that will come to pass that will greatly affect my chosen. Many years ago I attempted to contact one of my people that was more open to me, as I have you. I gave him a glimpse of his future in hopes he would hear me and become a mouthpiece for balance. Unfortunately he mistook the meaning of the vision I granted him. This has caused him to take a path that will end with pain and suffering. Not just to him but for my entire people and the rest of the world,” Agni stared sadly through the clouds.  
“You think that I would be able to change this?” Nukilik asked.  
“No young one. The one I gave the vision to has become determined to forge his own path in the pursuit of power and glory. You would not be able to sway him. However, you may be able to lessen the damage that his actions will cause. If you grant my request, you will turn my peoples faces towards me again and they will once again and they will bloom like the fire lily. With your influence they will become a proud and strong people,” the spirit proclaimed.  
“How could I do all that?” Nukilik uttered quietly, uncertainty colouring her voice.  
“Oh young one. You have already altered one destiny, I know you can do what I have asked. You need only be yourself,” The spirit said. Nukilik searched the spirit’s face and found only sincerity.  
“I’ll try my best,” Nukilik said “I want to save as many people as possible, no matter where they come from,” Agni smiled.  
“That is why you were given this chance. In gratitude for your compassion I give you a blessing,” Agni raised a hand and a multicoloured flame filled it, “though many of my people have become deaf to me and my will, any that still hear will harbor you. They will hear your words and be moved to aid you in the destiny that lies before you,” He said. The spirit reached forward and placed the flaming palm on the girl’s chest. The fire sunk into her chest and energy flowed through her. 

Nukilik woke up feeling as if she were bathing in sunlight. A warm glow emanating from where the spirit’s flame had come to rest. She was almost surprised that her chest wasn’t glowing with how it felt. Lifting up her hand she pressed a hand to the center of her chest and simply breathed, a small smile on her lips. This was how Hiroshi and Katashi found her, the two soldiers felt a shiver run up their backs. Their muscles seemed to relax as if they had walked into the midday sun. Katashi stole a glance at his partner then back to the girl. Hiroshi didn’t understand the significance of this feeling, though he reacted unconsciously to it. Katashi had felt it only once before a long time ago when he had been blessed to be in the presence of the young crown prince. Katashi watched the girl with a critical eye, trying to understand what could have possibly caused this girl to have gained the favour of Agni. 

Hiroshi moved further into the room to do his duty. This caught Nukilk’s eye and she turned to him. The sight of her large blue eyes seemed to freeze Hiroshi in place. As he watched it almost seemed like there was a flame flickering in the pupil. With a blink of her eyes the spell was broken. Hiroshi took a deep breath and continued forward, hands raised.  
“Hey miss, I’m gonna be coming in again. We left you unbound last night but I gotta tie you back up before bringing the food and water in,” Hiroshi said. Nukilik stared at the soldier then, sensing no ill will, nodded slightly. Hiroshi smiled and unlocked the cell to walk in. Katashi stood watch as Hiroshi secured the girls arms behind her back before moving out into the hall to fetch the food. Hiroshi smile never faulted as he took the bowl.  
“My names Hiroshi and the old grump is Katashi,” Hiroshi said with a wry smile as he used the chopsticks to point to Katashi, “We’ve been put in charge of looking after you and making sure you get your food everyday,” Nukilik watched the man before her as she took the bite of rice that was offered. The warmth in her chest grew the more he talked. She swallowed and contemplated replying to him. So far he didn’t seem to wish to harm her, but he was still a soldier, he had still marched on her tribe. Though Nukilik didn’t hate the Fire Nation they were still her enemy. It wouldn’t do to become too comfortable with him. What if she trusted him and he betrayed that trust? What if he was trustworthy but the other man, Katashi, wasn’t? For now she would wait and see if they were trustworthy. 

Hiroshi kept a steady stream of words going as he fed the girl. He knew she was a prisoner and he probably shouldn’t be talking too much to her. The other guards would probably berate him. They would tell him that this girl was the enemy and it would be better to keep her scared and compliant. Hiroshi couldn’t bring himself to even think about scaring the girl into submission. All he could think about were her sobs the night before. Something in him felt that he needed to protect her. It was much the same feeling he had gotten when his younger sister had wandered into the forest surrounding their home and had needed him to rescue them from the claws of a rampaging viper cat. He had felt a pull that day to go to search for her, had he been a second later getting to her she would have been dead. Over his lifetime Hiroshi had learnt to listen to his gut feelings, they rarely steered him wrong. By the time he had finished giving the girl the water the feeling had blossomed into a protectiveness that was on par with that he felt towards his siblings. He unconsciously made a promise to himself in that moment, that he would do whatever he could to look after this girl. As they left the cell Hiroshi almost expected Katashi to reprimand him for conversing with the girl, but the stern man was oddly quiet. Hiroshi shrugged, he didn’t pretend to know what was going on inside Katashi’s head.

The next few days passed in a similar manner to the first two and Nukilik felt herself becoming more relaxed around the two guards. The two had kept the promise they made that first day, not once harming her. Once a day they would enter her cell, tie her up, feed her and let her have a drink then release her again. Throughout it all Hiroshi would tell stories and jokes. A few times he even managed to make Nukilik smile. On those occasions he seemed to beam with pride. Katashi watched this all with a calm silence. 

Nukilik realised that the reason for this was so that she wouldn’t be able to use the water in the waterskin as a weapon to try and escape. Nukilik scoffed a bit at the thought, she wasn’t stupid enough to take on a ship full of firebenders. She knew she’d be cut down the instant she tried. Even if she did escape she had nowhere to go. She couldn’t go back to her tribe and bring the danger back with her. Not returning would also be a death sentence for her tribe as the Fire Nation would look there first and likely destroy her tribe looking for her. She couldn’t do that to them, it would make her giving herself up unnecessary. At least this way she knew that Katara would remain safe.

A change came on the fifth day. Nukilik tensed a sensation of dread coil in her gut when she saw them silently enter. Though they didn’t look too different from the usual guards, she felt an unmistakable sense of malice coming from them. It was also far too early for her meal. Ever since Agni’s blessing Nukilik had found herself able to track the exact time from where the sun was in the sky. Even when she couldn’t see the sun she could feel where it was. She was brought food at midday when the sun was the highest and therefore her guards where at their most powerful. Judging by the sun’s position it was barely breakfast on the ship. 

One of the soldiers stalked forward.  
“What are you doing untied savage?” he hissed and a wicked smile came over his face. For the first time since that first day Nukilik felt genuine fear fill her. The warmth that had been ever present with her in the presence of Hirosh and Katashi disappeared. It became like a frozen ball of ice as the man entered the cell and crowded her into the corner.  
“You know Ren, I think she might have been trying to escape. See she’s obviously broken out of her bonds and was waiting for the guard to come back to attack,” the other smiled almost gently as he tossed a length of severed rope to the floor. With those words Nukilik’s stomach dropped. Her eyes frantically darted around the cell for any means to protect herself. There was nothing. She was completely vulnerable.  
“Good thing we came and checked the cell before the next guard rotation. What kind of damage could have happened if this had been left unchecked. Such impertinence simply can’t be let go, now can it?” the man before her said as he leaned in close. A hand came up and a flame burst to life in his palm, like a grim parody of Agni when he had given her his blessing. Nukilik shrank back from the flame and the man let out a dark chuckle. 

“Here is what is going to happen” the man still outside the cell began, “you are going to stay very quiet and do what we say. It would be a shame to burn such a pretty young girl,” he said entering the cell. He closed the door behind him, locking them all in.  
“Now, now, Itachi just called you pretty, you savage. You should thank him for the compliment he gave you even after you have been so disrespectful,” Nukilik whimpered as the flame came closer. Her voice seemed to catch in her throat but she managed a strained thank you. The two laughed at her.  
“What a shy little rabbit finch,” Itachi commented, his gentle expression scared Nukilik more than the flaming hand hovering before her.  
“Be careful, she’s still dangerous even if she is small,” the other said with a smirk. Everyone in the room knew she wasn’t dangerous.  
“Well what a good thing that I have some more rope on me,” Itachi said, pulling out some more rope. Nukilik’s breathing quickened as she began to tremble.  
“Well savage, turn around,” Nukilik did not want to turn, to leave her back vulnerable in this situation filled her eyes with tears. She shook her head and pressed back, but there was nowhere to go. Suddenly Nukilik was on the floor, her cheek stung where Ren had backhanded her. A pained cry left her as the man kicked her in the stomach. He gave a few more kicks before Itachi placed a hand on his companions arm and he stilled.  
“No need for that Ren,” Itachi said calmly. “What else could you expect from a Water Tribe savage?” With that he rolled the groaning girl over and began tying her up. 

Once he finished Itachi pulled the girl up so that she was kneeling before the two. She watched them with tearful eyes, her breath stuttered out of her lungs.  
“Well now isn’t that a pretty picture?” Itachi murmured while squatting in front of her. His hand reached out to grab her still stinging cheek. Nukilik tried to jerk away, but the man’s grip only tightened.  
“You know I think that it could be prettier,” Ren said.  
“Oh how?” Ren chuckled and leaned forward to whisper something in Itachi’s ear. Itachi tilted his head in contemplation then ripped his hand away from her face to punch Nukilik’s unprotected stomach. The men watched gleefully as Nukilik was left gasping on the ground. Ren grabbed her by her hair and wrenched her up, her load cry of pain was met with another slap.  
“Now little lady, what did we say about being quiet?” Itachi asked, leaning forward. Tears poured down Nukilik’s cheeks and she whimpered.  
“Savages answer questions from their betters,” Ren growled, gripping harder.  
“Quiet, I’ll be quiet,” the girl gasped.  
“Correct,” Itachi smiled “Ren, give her a warning of what will happen if she makes too much noise,” The man said, moving back. Ren smirked viciously and his fist planted in her stomach. Bile rose up in her throat and splattered on the floor, a small amount falling on Ren’s boots. With a cry Ren threw her down.  
“The little bitch ruined my boots,” Ren snarled. Kicking her again, catching her ribs. There was a sickening crack and Nukilik gasped in excruciating pain. Ren used his boot to force the girl’s face down into her own vomit swearing vehemently at her. The stench filled her nostrils and she began gaging again.

After a minute Itachi reached down and placed a hand on Ren’s shoulder. Ren grunted and pulled her back up, her hair in a relentless grip.  
“Well, well, well. That was a very disrespectful thing to do little lady. You should apologise to Ren,” Nukilik looked up at the two men in fear.  
“I’m s-sorry Ren-” A slap silenced her.  
“You dare use your betters’ name, you savage,” Itachi snarled, hand still raised. His perfect smile was gone, instead rage contorted his handsome face.  
“Sorry sir-" another slap.  
"You will address your betters as master you savage," Nukilik stared at the man uncomprehending the words that had come out of his mouth. Another slap brought her back to the reality before her. She was looking up into the face of absolute hatred. The grip on her hair got impossibly tighter.  
"I'm sorry m-master," she gasped out. The hatred vanished and the calm smile was back, as if it had never left.  
"See, wasn't that too hard now was it? Set her down Ren," The man said. As Nukilik found herself back on her knees, Itachi reached into his pocket and pulled out a cloth. He then squatted back down and gently began wiping Nukilik's face clean of the bile. The gentle movements filled Nukilik with a feeling of nausea. She had seen this man’s frue face and the false gentleness just made her gut twist in discomfort.

Once Itachi had finished cleaning her face he brushed his fingers over her face.  
“It truly is such a beautiful colour,” he murmured, admiring the red blooming over her face. “I wonder how you would look with a deeper shape,” his fingers trailed down her cheek and gripped Nukilik’s chin, forcing her to stare into his eyes. The other hand reached down to his belt and pulled a dagger out of its sheath. 

Hiroshi felt restless. He had all morning. As soon as the sun had crested the horizon there had been an itch under his skin. As the morning wore on the feeling had only grown worse. By the time breakfast came his stomach had clenched so tightly he was barely able to swallow a mouthful. Sitting next to Katashi and took note that the man was barely eating either.  
“Not hungry?” Katashi looked up and shook his head. The two put their eating utensils down and sat in silence. In the loud hall the itch under Hiroshi’s skin seemed to condense, migrating into his chest and turning into a pull. Unconsciously he stood up and let the pull lead him. Unnoticed by him but Katashi followed. The two men walked through the kitchen, Katashi grabbed a waterskin on the way through. The longer they walked the faster they were pulled until they were sprinting through the ship. The feeling reached a crescendo when they came to a single door. Hiroshi’s breath caught in his throat, there was no one guarding the door. 

Nukilik’s breath stuttered as the blade came into view.  
“Don’t mess up her face too much Itachi, you know I like a pretty face,” Ren said from where he stood, arms crossed over his chest.  
“Oh hush now, when have I ever disfigured a face to the point you would find them ugly. We both know you don’t mind a little blood,” there was a teasing lilt to the man's voice, it scared her. Everything about this situation scared her. Nukilik had been terrified from the moment that these men had walked in. But that tone, that teasing tone. These two had done this before. They knew what they were doing. They had chosen the perfect time, everyone would be at breakfast. There was plenty of time until Hiroshi and Katashi would show up. They’d most likely be gone by them. The blade came and rested on her cheek freezing her in place.  
“Good girl,” Itachi purred. “Stay still while you take your punishment. I won’t make such a mess if you do,” Tears poured down Nukilik’s cheeks. She wanted this to be over, she wanted them to leave. She wanted her dad. 

The door of the room burst open. Itachi spun around slicing the girls cheek as he turned just in time for a blast of flame to hit him in the chest, slamming him back into the wall. There was a flurry of movement and a few more bursts of fire before the room stilled. Nukilik jerked her head up as the lock on the cell clicked open. She seemed to be watching from outside herself as two more soldiers rushed into the cell. Nukilik cringed away as far as she could from where she had been knocked down. She gasped as the movement shot pain through her chest.  
“Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay, it’s me, Hiroshi and Katashi. We won't hurt you. Those two are unconscious, we won’t let them hurt you again,” Nukilik stared.  
“Hiroshi?” She whispered.  
“Yeah, let’s get you untied,” Hiroshi said quickly untying the girl. “Katashi, we need to get her to the infirmary,”.  
“Water, I need water,” Nukilik gasped out. Katashi unthinkingly opened up the waterskin, intending to let her drink. Forcing herself not to wince Nukilik, in a daze, tried to pull her shirt off. Hiroshi had to help, he gasped as the bruises already forming came into view. Her chest and stomach were more bruise than normal skin. Nukilik pulled the water to her hands and began to heal herself. The two soldiers watched in shock at the girl in front of them. They watched her glowing hands trace unseen patterns over her own chest. Where her hands traced the swelling and red disappeared. 

Katashi had to force himself to choke the growl he wanted to let out in. These men had no honor. To attack a defenseless child was unthinkable, even a child from another nation. They were innocent in this fight. He felt his disgust at these men grow the more he looked at the bruises vanish from her skin. This girl should not have to heal wounds like this, no child should. As the last of the water absorbed into her skin Hiroshi helped her dress again. Even with the healing power she had she could not completely heal herself. He made sure that the men were properly bound. They would be punished for this, Katashi swore it. 

Hiroshi reached into his pocket and pulled out cloth to wipe the blood off the girls cheek. The girl jerked back then groaned in pain.  
“Hey, I just want to clean up the blood. I won’t touch if you don’t want me to,” Hiroshi said holding his hands up. The girl stared at Hiroshi, a drop of blood fell down onto the back of her hand. Her eyes snapped to it as another drop fell. Tears filled her eyes as she watched the blood drip onto her hands. Hiroshi telegraphed his movements as he reached forward, making sure that she could move away at any point and began wiping the blood away. He held the cloth to the cut, luckily, it was quite small so it didn’t take too long to stem the bleeding. As Hiroshi began to move his hand away Nukilik reached out to hold onto it. Hiroshi startled.  
“Thank you,” She whispered.  
“Hey, I promised we’d look after you didn’t I?” Nukilik looked up into his face and gave him a small smile.  
“My name’s Nukilik,” She said. Hiroshi and Katashi both smiled at the girl. With that smile the two cemented their decision to look after this girl in any way they could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, sorry this took so long. This chapter kicked my ass, it did not want to get up to my word limit and then like a mogwai fed after midnight it decided to become a monster and bashed through to become way longer then I intended. Anyway I hope you enjoyed, tell me what you think.

**Author's Note:**

> Well hello there, this is a new story that I am determined to finish and seeing as I'm currently on lockdown I may just have the time. So as you saw this is not, I repeat NOT beta'd and I have dyslexia, so please if you see any grammar, punctuation or spelling mistakes, tell me. I would also love to hear feedback on how this is going. Your comments give me life and fuel to continue so please tell me what you think. Also I have a rough outline for the next five-ish chapter so here's hoping I get that done fast. Any way hope you enjoyed I look forward to talking again.


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